Dusty Baker unfazed as Royals grab 1st place from Astros in AL West, believes team will dominate the next game

The Houston Astros have every reason to be concerned at this point as they have lost the first spot in the AL West. The defending champions lost the series opener to the Kansas City Royals 7-5 at home at Minute Maid Park only to give away the lead to rivals Texas Rangers.

The Astros have lost the last three series and dropped seven out of the last ten games. Three of those have been to the KC Royals, who also won the earlier return series at home. The Royals have a 52-102 record.

Not just the Royals, September has also seen the Astros drop a series to the low-lying Oakland Athletics. Their record of losing at home continued, where they have dropped 15 of the past 21 games. They are 39-40 at home and could become the first division winners since the 2001 Braves.

Even then manager Dusty Baker feels there's no reason to be concerned. He expects his team to bounce back in the next two games and win the series.

“You can’t cry over spilled milk, you can’t bring it back,” Dusty Baker said, “It’s very frustrating. The guys are a little frustrated, but we’re still in a good position. We’ll come back and get ‘em tomorrow.”

Houston Astros unfamiliar with the idea of dropping AL West

The Astros have dominated the AL West division in the last few years. Barring the incomplete 2020 season that was won by the Athletics, the Astros have won the division every year since 2017. They have had 100+ wins in four of those five seasons.

However, that hasn't been the case this year for they have faced stiff competition from the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers have edged ahead with a lead of 0.5 games. The Mariners are 0.5 games behind the Astros in third spot and just outside the AL Wild Card spots.