MLB fans react to Houston Astros embarrassing 2-0 loss to Giants: "Hard to win when you don’t know what pitch is coming"

After the Houston Astros won an AL-best 111 games in 2022, and steamrolled the opposition all the way to their second World Series title in six seasons, fans expected more of the same this year.

After a loss on May 2, the Houston Astros now find themselves with a record of 16-14. Their win-loss ratio was good enough to place them in third spot in the AL West, tied with the Los Angeles Angels. It represents the first time that the Astros are on par with Shohei Ohtani and company since May 2022.

After dropping their past two series, the Astros were hoping to kick themselves back into gear as they welcomed the San Francisco Giants to town. Although Dusty Baker's club were able to stiffle the Giants by a score of 7-3 in their first match, they dropped their second game of the series by a disappointing and anticlimactic 2-0 score.

"Final: Giants 2, #Astros 0" - Houston Astros

Fans who expected their team to have clinched the AL Pennant by now are full of questions. It did not take long for the armchair managers to start prescribing solutions to the Houston Astros.

Other fans evidently still harbor feelings of ill-will toward the Astros for their role in the 2017 sign-stealing scandal. A league investigation revealed that the team was using coded signals to crack the pitching patterns of opposing pitchers. Although the affair was settled, no Astros players were suspended. However, the ubiquitous "cheater" accusations remain.

While the Astros lost to the San Francisco Giants, who have a record of 12-17, the Texas Rangers were busy at work. A timely home run from Ezequiel Duran lifted the Rangers (18-11) over the Arizona Diamondbacks and put them atop the division. Needless to say, seeing their team tied with the Los Angeles Angels does not exactly enamour Astros fans.

Houston Astros still have plenty of baseball left

Although the team lost some key names like Justin Verlander and Yuli Gurriel in the offseason, the core remains. And while Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez have missed some important time early in the season, the return of those heavy bats will likely lift the fortunes of the team.

If the Houston Astros are unable to muster success, there are plenty of other willing suitors in the AL West who would be happy to take their place after seeing the title go to Houston in five of the past six seasons.