Astros return to work after off-day elimination

ANAHEIM — They were hanging out with friends or watching football on TV during the off-day when it became official: The Astros were eliminated from postseason contention with Baltimore’s win on Thursday night, rendering the final three games of the season against the Angels void of any drama.

A season that began with World Series expectations ended without a trip to the postseason, which was certainly disappointing for second-year manager A.J. Hinch, the players and the coaching staff. A slow start, underperformance in the starting rotation and second-half injuries combined to derail the Astros’ playoff hopes.

“It’s very disappointing, based on a lot of the guys how hard they worked last offseason,” said 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, who went 9-12 with a 4.55 ERA before missing the final month with left shoulder inflammation. “Guys, including myself, didn’t live up to our own expectations, and that’s the most difficult part is that you battle through injuries and kind of left the team in a bad place the first half of the season and now we’re going home.

“This might be a blessing in disguise and might give a lot of guys opportunities or opportunity to heal up, including myself, and get that little extra break needed to make another postseason run next year.”

All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who’s …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com