Complex sentence: The remaining five teams were separated by as few as one-and-one-half games in the standings on August 18, despite the Houston Astros team having lost 20 of its first 24 games.
Split into simpler sentences: The remaining five teams were separated by as few as one-and-one-half games in the standings on August 18. This came despite the fact that the Houston Astros team had lost 20 of its first 24 games.