Gurriel homers twice as Astros punch playoff ticket

The Houston Astros toasted a playoff berth in a private moment, and then moved on to their next goal.

“You’ve got to take it step by step so it’s nice to acknowledge and celebrate it because you don’t take it for granted,” righthander Gerrit Cole said. “But we’ve got some more work to do.”

Yuli Gurriel hit a grand slam and a two-run homer on his way to a career-high seven RBIs, and the Astros secured a spot in the post-season with an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

George Springer added a three-run shot in the eighth for the Astros, who are still looking to secure the AL West title. The defending World Series champions began the day with a 3 1/2-game lead over secondplace Oakland.

Cole (15-5) allowed three hits and three runs in seven innings in his fifth straight win. He also struck out 12, giving him 1,006 for his career and moving him in front of teammate Justin Verlander (269) for most in the AL this season with 272.

Gurriel hit his third career grand slam in the first inning. He connected for his 12th homer against Andrew Heaney (9-10) in the third and singled in Tyler White in the fifth.

It was his first career multihomer game. His brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also homered twice for Toronto on Friday night, marking the first time in major league history that brothers had multihomer games on the same day.

“My parents were so happy that they didn’t know what to do with themselves, hearing the great news,” Yuli Gurriel said through a translator. “Sometimes I have a good game and sometimes he has a good game, but for us to have a great game together is very special.”

Gurriel’s seven RBIs were the most for a Houston player since J.R. Towles set a franchise record with eight 11 years ago on Friday.