Firing Brad Mills doesn't appear to have changed much of anything in Houston.

Following a sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros' losing streak extends to seven straight games. Their last win came at the hands of the similarly bad Chicago Cubs back on Aug. 14.

It's been even worse than that in the long term. Houston has gone 7-43 in their last 50 games following their last loss to St. Louis, a 50-game record that hasn't been achieved since the 1940s.

ELIAS: The last team before '12 HOU to win 7-or-fewer games over a 50-game stretch in a single season was the Phil. A’s in 1943 (seven).

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 23, 2012

At least their payroll isn't bloated in relation to the results they're getting on the diamond.

Houston's next opponent, the New York Mets, are slumping just as hard recently -- the Mets just got swept by the Rockies and put up only five runs in the four-game series. Perhaps their upcoming series against the Mets will finally provide interim manager Tony DeFrancesco his first win at the helm of the Astros.

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