In one respect, the 2023 season is playing out just like every other season this decade for the Astros. They started the year 7-9 for the 4th straight season. This is the 5th straight year the team has been at least 2 games under .500 (remember that 2-5 start for 2019). At the time of this writing, they still sit under .500 (9-10) and face one of the toughest stretches of the season.
Presuming the Phillies don’t go on a hot streak over the next week or so, Houston will have played 18 straight games against teams over .