Postseason FAQ: What's next for the Astros?

HOUSTON -- By clinching their seventh American League West title in eight seasons on Tuesday night, the Astros were finally able to take their foot off the gas at the end of the regular season. That was quite a relief for a club that’s been going full-throttle since falling 10 games behind the Mariners on June 18.

The Astros completed an improbable comeback in the division race by beating the Mariners, 4-3, on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park to win the AL West. They’ve won the division title in each of the last seven 162-game seasons, but this one was different.

“We were 10 games out in June and I was going into the office every single day and rallying the coaches, and telling them, ‘Hey, let’s just keep pushing these guys, keep motivating the group,’” first-year manager Joe Espada said. “The players said, ‘We got this. We’re a good team. We’ve just got to go on a hot streak and we’ll turn this around.’ And we did. This is special.”

The Astros are back in the postseason for the eighth consecutive season and will be aiming to advance to their eighth AL Championship Series in a row. Over the past seven years, they’ve won four pennants and two World Series titles, falling one game short of reaching the Fall Classic last year.

Here are answers to a few questions you might have:

What could the postseason roster look like?
After playing with a 28-man roster in September, teams revert to 26 players for the Wild Card Series. The Astros will likely carry 14 position players and 12 pitchers because they will only need three starting pitchers. The big decision will be whether to carry a third catcher (César Salazar), which would enable Espada to play Victor Caratini at first base, or an extra position player like No. 14 prospect Shay Whitcomb or No. 5 prospect Zach Dezenzo. The health of Yordan Alvarez looms large, as well.

C: Yainer Diaz, Victor Caratini, César Salazar
1B: Jon Singleton
2B: Jose Altuve
SS: Jeremy Peña
3B: Alex Bregman
OF: Kyle Tucker, Jake Meyers, Jason Heyward, Chas McCormick
DH: Yordan Alvarez
UT: Mauricio Dubón, Grae Kessinger
SP: Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Yusei Kikuchi
RP: Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Héctor Neris, Ronel Blanco, Kaleb Ort, Caleb Ferguson, Bryan King, Spencer Arrighetti

Who will the Astros play in the Wild Card Series?
As the No. 3 seed, the Astros will host the No. 6 seed Tigers in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, which begins on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park. Houston (88-73) went 4-2 against Detroit (86-76) in the regular season, winning two of three games at Comerica Park (May 10-12) and Minute Maid Park (June 14-16). It will also mark the return of Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who guided the Astros to the 2017 World Series title before he was dismissed in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal prior to the 2020 season.

What will the rotation look like?
Left-hander Framber Valdez will start Game 1 on Tuesday. It’s expected that Hunter Brown and Yusei Kikuchi would start the next two games, if needed, in some order. That would make Blanco, Arrighetti and Justin Verlander, if he makes the roster, available in relief.

What health issues face the Astros?
There is no bigger health issue than Alvarez, who suffered a right knee sprain sliding into second base in the third inning last Sunday and was removed from the game. Espada said Alvarez is progressing so well that there’s a chance he could be on the roster for the Wild Card Series.

How many playoff games have the Astros played since this run began in 2017?
Houston has played in 97 postseason games since 2017, which is 24 more than any other team in that span (Dodgers have 73). The closest AL team is the Yankees, who have played 44 playoff games since 2017, including ALCS losses to the Astros in ’17, ’19 and ’22.

If the Astros make the ALCS for an eighth consecutive season, would they set a record?
The longest streak of consecutive LCS appearances belongs to the Braves with eight in a row from 1991 to 1999 (not counting 1994, when there were no playoffs because of a strike), so the Astros can tie it.