MLB's Mexico Series Comes to a Close on Cinco de Mayo

​Article by: Zach Henley

https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/media:36b2b5dba5de404d941496c0a5032508/800.jpeg

This past weekend, the MLB finished their Mexico Series with the Houston Astros taking on the Los Angeles Angels. The third set of games in the country south of the United States, showed promise for the future with some fireworks to tie it all together. 

The Astros came into Mexico looking to reset and get their offense back to championship caliber, and that is exactly what they got. In only two games, the Astros outscored the Angels, 24 to 6. The team cranked 8 home runs, with Alex Bregman hitting three of them. The starting pitching was solid, and the team looked like their 2017 title team. On the other side, the Angels were a complete mess. The first part was in their starting pitching. Between both starters, veterans Trevor Cahill and Matt Harvey, the duo pitched only 8 innings, allowing 11 combined runs, and only struck out 3 hitters. The bullpen also struggled, especially pitcher Chris Stratton. The reliever gave up 8 runs in only 4 innings on Saturday. The silver lining for the Angels amid this confusion, is that legend Albert Pujols hit another home run and continues to establish his legacy. 

This series showed that traveling has different effects on teams. For Houston, the effect was that the team was ready to play and put on a show. For the Angels, the effect was the team was sluggish and just full-out not ready to compete. The series also showed an exciting amount of potential for the future international series. The MLB has already released a schedule, coming out last season, showing that in 2020, the MLB will expand to Asia, Mexico, either Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, and even the United Kingdom. This idea of expanding to many different countries is great for the MLB. Not only does it show the sport to different people, but the players also have a chance to go to their home countries and celebrate the sport and their careers. This inspires many young fans to pursue their dreams, no matter what that may be, but it gives them hope and courage to follow their aspirations just like the current players. 

​The international series in my opinion is great and I hope to see it continue in the future. They have been playing in Mexico and other countries for over a decade, and it gets better every year. I also hope to see that all 30 teams have traveled and played in a different country. That gives everyone a variety so the international fans aren't seeing the same teams and players each year.  

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed the article be sure to drop a like! Also feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below.

To get keep getting news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!​​