Lotsa luck.

Quick work break. Wanted to hit on something to follow up on yesterday’s report, since – barring an unlikely tear by the Astros to move past at least four of the six teams ahead of them in the race for the two Wild Card spots followed by another necessary chain of events – Texas and Houston won’t share a field for another 227 days, at which point the following will serve only as motivation, rather than as evidence.

There is a faction of Astros fans, not to mention a player or two down there, advancing the position that luck has been a predominant factor in the Rangers’ domination of the 19-game series between the two teams in 2016.

A good Houston fan that I’ve known forever hangs on the fringes of that argument, but also points out the following:

Jose Altuve is a .341/.401/.551 (.952 OPS) hitter this season. He’s a legitimate MVP candidate.

Against Texas, in a reasonably significant 83 plate appearances, he was a .282/.386/.493 (.878) hitter.

A dropoff. Not a drastic one, necessarily, but Houston’s best player wasn’t at his best against Texas.

But how about the team’s second- and third-best players?

Carlos Correa (.271/.361/.453 [.814]) against the league: .159/.266/.188 (.454) in 79 trips against the Rangers.

George Springer (.254/.359/.455 [.814]) against the league: .165/.267/.342 (.608) in 90 times up against Texas.

Ooof.

And in an unrelated context that doesn’t advance the above narrative:

Carlos Gomez as an Astro: .210/.272/.322 (.594 OPS).

Carlos Gomez as an Astro against the Rangers: .111/.250/.259 (.509).

Carlos Gomez as a Ranger: .215/.329/.446 (.775 OPS).

Carlos Gomez as a Ranger against the Astros: .238/.360/.333 (.693).

So take heart, Houston fans: Carlos Gomez had has his own little dropoff as a Ranger when facing your team.

Luck, maybe.