The 2021 Houston Astros season was the 60th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 57th as the Astros, ninth in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 22nd at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as a wild card qualifier through a second-place finish in the AL West for a fourth consecutive postseason appearance. Having ultimately progressed to the American League Championship Series (ALCS)—also their fifth consecutive—the Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox in six games to advance to the 2021 World Series, where they would be defeated by the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Four Astros players gained selection to the 2021 All-Star Game: second baseman Jose Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Michael Brantley, and pitcher Ryan Pressly. First baseman Yuli Gurriel won the AL batting title, his first, with a .319 batting average, becoming the second Cuban-born player and second Astro after Altuve to do so. Correa led AL position players with 7.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
The Astros concluded the regular season with a 95–67 record, while clinching an AL West title for the fourth time in the last five seasons. It was also the 11th division title in franchise history, sixth playoff berth over the previous seven years, and 15th playoff appearance overall. By winning the AL West, Dusty Baker became the first manager in major league history to guide five different clubs to a division title, giving him eight division titles overall.
In the playoffs, the Astros defeated the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series (ALDS) in four games to advance to their fifth straight ALCS. They faced the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 2018 ALCS. The Astros won the ALCS in six games for the fourth pennant in franchise history and third as an AL team. They advanced to the World Series for the third time in five years, but lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Following the season, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (second selection) and right fielder Kyle Tucker (first) were both selected for 2021's All-MLB Second Team. Gurriel and Correa each won their first Gold Glove Awards, while the Astros were named the AL Gold Glove Team. Correa also won the Platinum Glove and Fielding Bible Awards both for the first time.
An American League (and franchise) record five Astros were named Gold Glove finalists, along with another five as finalists for the Silver Slugger Award. Baker and pitcher Luis García were named finalists for the AL Manager of the Year and AL Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Baker finished third in voting, and García finished second. This marked the third consecutive season that an Astros player was named a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, following Yordan Alvarez, who won it unanimously in 2019, and Cristian Javier, who finished in third in 2020.
Offseason Summary The Astros entered the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season as having been defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and runner-up for the 2020 AL pennant. The Astros played to a 3–0 deficit to begin the ALCS, won the next three, and were defeated 4–2 in Game 7. The Rays thus avoided joining the 2004 New York Yankees as the only MLB clubs to lose a League Championship Series after mounting a 3–0 lead.
Ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander missed the entire 2021 season recuperating from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, also known as Tommy John surgery, which was performed on October 1, 2020. He was in the final year of his contract. On February 27, 2021, the Astros placed the right-hander on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from the surgery.
Offseason transactions Free agent signings Signed right-handed pitcher (RHP) Ryne Stanek to a 1-year contract on January 7, 2021 Signed RHP Pedro Báez to a 2-year contract on January 13, 2021 Signed catcher (C) Jason Castro to a 2-year contract on January 22, 2021 Signed RHP Jake Odorizzi to a 2-year contract on March 8, 2021
Free agent departures Outfielder (OF) George Springer signed a six-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 23, 2021. OF Josh Reddick signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 12, 2021.
Pitchers that elected for free agency included Joe Biagini, Chase De Jong, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski, and Dustin Garneau
Trades and waiver claims Players that were traded or claimed in the offseason by a different team included Brandon Bailey, Humberto Castellanos, Cionel Pérez, Carlos Sanabria, Cy Sneed, and Jack Mayfield.
Contract extensions Signed RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to a five-year contract extension on March 24, 2021
Regular season Summary April
+ Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 27 Jose Altuve Second baseman 10 23 Michael Brantley Left fielder 3 2 Alex Bregman Third baseman 6 30 Kyle Tucker Right fielder 1 1 Carlos Correa Shortstop 5 44 Yordan Alvarez Designated hitter 1 10 Yuli Gurriel First baseman 4 3 Myles Straw Center fielder 1 15 Martín Maldonado Catcher 2 21 Zack Greinke Pitcher 1 Venue: Oakland Coliseum • Final: Houston 8, Oakland 1 Sources:
On April 1, starting pitcher Zack Greinke earned his first career Opening Day win, and 209th win overall, as the Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics, 8–1, at the Oakland Coliseum. He pitched six scoreless innings, the 65th time his career he has produced at least six scoreless innings. Yordan Alvarez, returning from dual knee surgery that cost him nearly all of the 2020 season, drove in three runners, and Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning. Outfielder Chas McCormick made his MLB debut as a defensive replacement for Brantley, whose home run signaled his third successive on Opening Day. Having won on a ninth consecutive Opening Day, Houston established a club record, and equaled the modern-era major league record for the longest streak, with the Seattle Mariners (2007–15), Cincinnati Reds (1983–91), New York Mets (1975–83) and St. Louis Browns (1937–45).
Ryan Pressly first became Houston's full-time closer in 2021.
Brantley batted .345 in April and .410 in June, remaining at or near the top of the AL batting leaders for much of the season.
Manager Dusty Baker earned his 1,900th career win in the major leagues on April 22 by an 8–2 score versus the Los Angeles Angels. In that game, Cristian Javier became the first Astros pitcher to record the first eight outs of a game by strikeout since Jim Deshaies on September 23, 1986, versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over five innings, Javier set a new personal high with nine strikeouts and one walk and no earned runs.
In their first rematch since the 2020 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Astros defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 9–2, on April 30. Lance McCullers Jr. hurled seven shutout innings, striking out nine. Brantley and Carlos Correa both had four hits and Bregman hit a two-run home run. Four RBI came via Aledmys Díaz' two hits. Brantley, Bregman, Alvarez and Correa produced consecutive hits in the third inning, leading to three of the runs. With this win, Baker reached 1,906 to pass Casey Stengel for 12th all-time.
May Outfielder Kyle Tucker recorded a breakout season in 2021: from May 1 through the end of the season, he batted .320 and led the AL in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.
During the May 7 game versus the Toronto Blue Jays, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez drove in the 100th run of his career, doing so in 114 game as part of a 10–4 victory. He was the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 RBI in league history and the fastest to do so since the expansion era started in 1961. The next game, he homered and drove in three more in an 8–4 loss to the Blue Jays for 103 RBI in 115 games.
In the May 25 contest versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, Greinke became the 135th pitcher in major league history to reach 3,000 career innings. Jose Altuve was hitless in four at bats to end a 17-game hitting streak, the longest in the major leagues to that point in the season.
June On June 4, Zack Greinke threw his first complete game since April 19, 2017, and first as a member of the Astros. He allowed six hits with one run and one walk and three strikeouts in a 13–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York. Martín Maldonado hit a grand slam, and Carlos Correa homered twice to lead the Astros' 16-hit attack.
In the June 6 contest versus the Blue Jays, infielder Aledmys Díaz suffered a fracture in his left hand on a hit by pitch delivered from Ross Stripling. Díaz was expected to miss six to eight weeks.
Down to the Astros' final strike in the ninth inning on June 15, Carlos Correa belted a solo home run to take the contest against the Texas Rangers into extra innings. The Rangers took another lead in the tenth inning, 3–2. In the bottom of tenth, Jose Altuve belted a walk-off grand slam for a 6–2 Astros' win.
The following day, June 16, Altuve connected for a lead-off home run against Texas; Altuve became the first player in major league history to record a walk-off grand slam and then a lead-off home run in the following game. The Astros won that game, 8–4, to sweep their in-state rivals and realize their 12th win in their past 16th games. Third baseman Alex Bregman injured his left quadriceps in the first inning of the June 16 game as he attempted to avoid hitting into a double play. Catcher Garrett Stubbs was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his place on the 25-man roster.
Altuve hit his 150th career home run on June 23, served up by Thomas Eshelman of the Baltimore Orioles.
All-Star Game selections The following Astros players were selected as reserves to play at the 91st All-Star Game, hosted by the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 13, 2021: Jose Altuve, second baseman: seventh selection, tied Craig Biggio for most appearances by an Astro Michael Brantley, outfielder: had batted .402 with nine doubles, one triple and 16 RBI in a one-month span since returning from injury Carlos Correa: shortstop: ranked fifth in AL in OPS (.926) at time of selection Ryan Pressly, relief pitcher: second selection. Pressly had not allowed an earned run in 12 consecutive appearances, leading to a 1.54 ERA over 35 innings and a 4–1 record. He was tied for first in save percentage (93.3%), and among relief pitchers in the AL, was third in ERA, fourth in WHIP (0.83) and hed tied for fifth in with 14 saves.
With the four total selections, the Astros tied for second-most selections for 2021.
July A lingering knee injury dampened Brantley's second-half performance. As of late July, he maintained a batting average of .336.
In an attempt to revamp their bullpen by adding higher-velocity pitchers, the Astros acquired Yimi García from the Miami Marlins on July 28. Up until that trade, García saved 15 games with a 3.47 ERA over 39 total relief appearances in 2021. He struck out 35 in innings. The Astros sent outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and pitcher Austin Pruitt in return.
On July 30, the Astros traded Myles Straw to the Cleveland Indians for reliever Phil Maton and minor league catcher Yainer Díaz. Trading Straw allowed for the Astros to give rookie outfielders Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers more opportunities to play. On July 31, the club selected Meyers' contract from Sugar Land and promoted him to the major league roster.
August Jake Meyers made his Major League debut on August 1 as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of a 5–3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Jake Meyers hit his first career home run on August 14 versus pitcher Jaime Barría of the Los Angeles Angels, and added a grand slam later in the same game as the Astros won, 8–2.