Astros' postseason march lends advantage: Time off

HOUSTON -- The longest stretch the Astros went without playing a game this season -- prior to having five days off from the end of the regular season until the start of Game 1 of the American League Division Series -- was three days. That came during the All-Star break, which in many ways was the most hectic time of the year.

The entire Astros coaching staff spent the All-Star break in Los Angeles, guiding the AL in the All-Star Game, along with All-Star players Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez (Jose Altuve was elected to start the All-Star Game but opted not to play). Houston had one day off after the All-Star Game and then had to play a makeup doubleheader against the Yankees, so it wasn’t much of a break at all.

The Astros swept the doubleheader from the Yanks, then flew to Seattle and swept the Mariners, who had won 14 in a row, to take control of the AL West. They cruised to a 106-win regular season and the AL West title, and they are unbeaten (7-0) in the postseason heading into Game 1 of the World Series on Friday against the Phillies at Minute Maid Park.

By now, the Astros are used to the grind of the regular season, but when they reached the playoffs, the grind was suddenly replaced by idle time. As the top seed in the AL playoffs, the team had a bye into the ALDS, which meant five days off after the Oct. 5 regular-season finale. While the Phillies were in St. Louis battling the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Series, the Astros had their feet kicked up in Houston. Pumpkin spice lattes, anyone?

Sweeps of the Mariners in the ALDS and the Yankees in the ALCS have afforded the Astros extra time off, which is invaluable this time of year. Players can rest and recover their bodies, and the club can line up its pitching staff the way it sees fit. Make no mistake: It’s a luxury, but it may not always be beneficial.

“I've been in both scenarios, where I've clinched early or eliminated somebody early and had a few days off,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I've seen some positive things come out of that, but I've also seen some positive things come out of not having any time off, just staying on it.”

The Astros will have had 15 off-days between beating the Phillies in the regular-season finale on Oct. 5 and Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

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Since 1995, the only other club that’s had that many days without a game between the final day of the regular season and Game 1 of the World Series (excluding 2020) was the 2007 Rockies, who also had 15 off-days.

The 2007 Rockies, like the Astros, swept their Division Series and the Championship Series (7-0), though in the NL. They had eight days off before the start of the World Series while waiting for the Red Sox to come back from down, 3-1, to beat Cleveland in the ALCS. The Red Sox swept the well-rested Rockies.

Unlike the 2007 World Series, though, both the Astros and Phillies will have four days of rest leading into Game 1 of the Fall Classic after becoming the first teams to clinch pennants on the same day since 1992.

“If the other team would have gone six or seven games [in the LCS], that would have been different,” said long-time Major League reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who was a member of the 2007 Rockies. “We did get stale. We sat for eight days. It snowed in Colorado. We were on a roll, and we ended up being victims of our own success.”

Because there aren’t games doesn’t mean the players are “off.” The Astros traveled from Seattle the day after they eliminated the Mariners on Oct. 15 and from New York the day after eliminating the Yankees on Sunday, which are hardly off-days. When they’re not traveling or playing, most players are working out or getting treatment at Minute Maid Park.

Still, while the Astros played seven games in 18 days from the end of the regular season through their pennant-clinching win Sunday, the Phillies played 11 games in that span, including six on the road. The Astros have played only three road games in the last month -- their last regular-season road game was Sept. 25 at Baltimore. Of the 21 games the Phillies have played since Sept. 27, all but five have been on the road.

The Astros seem to have everything in their favor entering the World Series. They have more postseason experience than the Phillies (Game 1 of the Fall Classic will be Houston’s 87th playoff game since 2015). They won 19 more games than the Phillies in the regular season, the second-largest win difference between World Series opponents in MLB history. Plus, they have home-field advantage.

It remains to be seen if the additional time off proves to be an advantage, as well.