Another close win proves Astros fans were wrong to want Joe Espada fired

The Houston Astros began the season on a terrible two month stretch that saw them at the bottom of the American League, sitting next to the Oakland Athletics. Many speculated that the Astros' dominant run at the top of the league had come to an abrupt end.

As a result of losing ways, many Houston fans were calling for manager Joe Espada to be fired and replaced with a better candidate. It was hard to fathom that a franchise with such sustained dominance had fallen off the map so quickly and so severely.

But just as they fell off quickly, they have risen back up the standings in the same manner. Houston is back atop the American League just months after everybody was calling for their manager's job.

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Joe Espada proving Astros were right to stick with him as their manager

The Astros have seen their fair share of injuries this year. They had Kyle Tucker sitting among the AL MVP favorites for a while, but he hasn't played for months due to injuries.

The pitching staff has been destroyed with injuries as multiple players have undergone major surgery while others are still recovering from surgery last year. There's no reason that the Astros should be competitive this year.

But here they are. Atop the league once again. And they can't stop winning.

Part of that, especially the close wins, comes back to Espada and his management of the team. Whether it's his management of the bullpen, the lineup or substitutions during the game, you have to give the guy some credit.

Espada has also kept a clean, drama free clubhouse all season long, which isn't the most shocking thing, but given their early struggles, he could have lost the clubhouse very easily.

Now the Astros are pushing up the standings as one of the best teams in the game and they should see the return of Kyle Tucker among others before the season is over. They will only get better over the last few months.

The Espada haters that were calling for his job earlier in the season are sounding very quiet right now. The Astros are looking smarter by the day for sticking with their guy.