Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve reacts after a strikeout. Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Astros offense remains anemic after being swept by Tigers

By Joe Rutland | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 6:49 PM ET

Watching the Houston Astros play baseball recently has been painful, especially for their fans. The Astros, behind a shaky start from lefty Framber Valdez, lost to the Detroit Tigers, 7-2, on Wednesday as Detroit earned a three-game sweep.

The Astros' offense has been anemic with hitters simply looking lethargic at the plate.

Jose Altuve, usually a good contact hitter, has been flailing away at pitches above and outside of the strike zone. Christian Walker, who's had a pretty good month overall, has not been able to provide clutch hits. Yanier Diaz continues to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone.

Let's not forget about Jesus Sanchez, who can't buy a hit if he stopped by a grocery store.

Charlie Morton, Wicked 82mph Curveball. pic.twitter.com/wD6kNZ2bXZ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 20, 2025

The Astros were in the midst of a 31-inning scoreless streak until Mauricio Dubon hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning on Wednesday.

Mauricio Dubón - Houston Astros (7)
pic.twitter.com/Y9KOM1wcHp
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 20, 2025

While the offense has been out to lunch, the starting pitching has been shaky at best. The Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Tigers all posted double-digit victories over Houston in the past couple of weeks. Valdez gave up six runs in the first inning on Wednesday, putting the struggling Astros behind early.

Carlos Correa, whom Houston reacquired from the Minnesota Twins, has been putting together some decent at-bats, including going 1-for-3 with a walk on Wednesday. Correa spoke to the team on Tuesday night after a tough 1-0, 10-inning loss.

Carlos Correa was among the players who spoke up in a team meeting post-game yesterday.

"It's just to encourage guys to go out there and bring the energy and go out there and play the brand of baseball that we're accustomed to play."
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 20, 2025

After Wednesday's loss, Correa had additional comments about the team's performance.

"We got outplayed. It’s as simple as that," he said in a postgame interview.

Correa: "We got outplayed. It’s as simple as that. They played better baseball. They played a really good brand of baseball and we didn’t. When you are facing one of the best teams in the league and we don’t show up, that’s going to happen."
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 20, 2025

Right now, the Astros — believe it or not — are still in first place in the American League West. One might think that the Seattle Mariners would take advantage of this situation, but that has not happened. The Astros are nursing a 1.5-game lead in the division.

Joe Rutland

Joe Rutland has contributed articles on sports, entertainment, and business to digital platforms like Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, and others. He's spent four decades in the communications industry as a journalist, editor, writer, and columnist. His sports areas of focus include MLB, NBA, college football, and WNBA

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