HOUSTON – Depending on your point of view, the Houston Astros are gorgeous, amazing, and confusing. Perhaps, though, they are all at once. The world, after all, has many shades of gray.

Some baseball fans may never forgive the franchise for cheating during its 2017 World Championship-winning season. These were the transgressions Presented in November 2019 It was subsequently investigated by Major League Baseball, which said the Astros’ illegal signal-stealing scheme continued for at least part of 2018. The league issued penalties Before season 2020.

Still, the Astros have one of the best runs in baseball history, while still stirring up emotions fans And opponents. General Director different now. so it is Director. As is the case with the group of characters surrounding the core group of players. However, the Astros continue to win. Maybe they didn’t need a trash can.

After ousting the Boston Red Sox, 5-0, in Game 6 of the MLS Series at Minute Maid Park on Friday, the Astros are – once again – in the World Series. Including the now tainted 2017 season, the Astros have reached the final round three times in the past five years. They failed by one win to win the MLS flag in 2020.

The Astros will face the winner of the NL Championship between Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Championships starting Tuesday.

To get this far, the Astros won 95 games during the regular season and took their fourth Western League title in five years. Although the staff set up Lacks star power in previous qualifying roundsThe Astros excel in many aspects of the game – on the hill, on the board, and on the field.

Their biggest strength was the relentless attack that led the big players to score and they were the hardest hits. And the talented core of their roster – 1st baseman Yuli Gouriel, 2nd baseman Jose Altove, Shortstop Carlos Correa And the third Alex Bregman – was the common thread of all three world championship teams.

In the first round of the postseason, the Astros outlasted the AL Central Chicago White Sox champions, losing just one game and beating their opponent 31-18.

In the ALCS, where the Astros were making their fifth straight trip, the Red Sox had more fights. Not only did they have more experience than the White Sox, but they also had one of the best offenses in baseball, which threatened the Astros’ staff.

The Astros were late in the series, two games to one, before they scored three straight wins. They scored nine runs in Game 4 and again in Game 5 in Boston.

Back in Houston for Game Six, the winning formula was different. The Astros took a 2-0 lead through seven rounds – both featuring champion Jordan Alvarez – and then advanced another hat-trick past Kyle Tucker for eighth. That was more than enough for a staff led by rookie Luis Garcia, who allowed just one hit over five and two goalless innings.