Astros roll to win, wrap up AL West title
PHOENIX — Houston rallied to clinch its third straight American League West title, beating Arizona 8-1 on Sunday behind Christian Javier’s six shutout innings and Alex Bregman’s two-run homer.
Needing a victory and a Texas loss to win the division, the Astros did their part by jumping on Kyle Nelson (7-4) from the first pitch. Houston led 5-0 after two innings, and Javier (10-5) held a Diamondbacks lineup mostly devoid of everyday players to three hits.
Kyle Tucker had a sacrifice fly to finish with 112 RBIS, most in the AL and third in the majors. Jose Abreu added a two-run homer in the seventh, and the Astros secured their sixth AL West title in seven years after the Rangers lost 1-0 at Seattle.
“A lot of people wanted to know what it’s like if the Astros didn’t win the division,” Bregman said before popping the cork on a champagne bottle. “I guess we’ll never know.”
Houston has a first-round bye in the AL playoffs while Arizona will play at Milwaukee in a best-ofthree National League wild-card series that starts Tuesday.
The Astros had a solid follow-up to their second World Series title, finishing 90-72 after going 10656 last season. Houston’s fourth straight victory to close the regular season gave manager Dusty Baker his 13th season with at least 90 wins.
The Diamondbacks backed into the playoffs, scoring two runs in three games against the
Astros to close the regular season on a four-game skid. Arizona finished 84-78 after going 74-88 last season and losing 110 games the year before.
■ Tigers 5, Guardians 2: At Detroit, Matt Vierling went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a tworun homer for Detroit to back Eduardo Rodriguez (13-9), who allowed one earned run in seven innings.
■ Red Sox 6, Orioles 1: At Baltimore, Boston scored five unearned runs and stole six bases to back Tanner Houck (6-10), who allowed one hit — a sixth-inning single — in six shutout innings.
■ Rockies 3, Twins 2: At Denver, Brenton Doyle scored the winning run from second base in the 11th on a wild 63-mph slider by outfielder-turned-pitcher Jordan Luplow (0-1).
■ Royals 5, Yankees 2: At Kansas City, Mo., three homers backed Zack Greinke (2-15), who allowed one run in five-plus innings.
■ Mariners 1, Rangers 0: At Seattle, George Kirby (13-10) shut out Texas with 75 pitches over six innings, striking out seven.
■ Cardinals 4, Reds 3: At St. Louis, Jordan Walker and Luken Baker hit consecutive RBI doubles in St. Louis’ three-run third.
■ Angels 7, Athletics 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Brandon Drury homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
■ Brewers 4, Cubs 0: At Milwaukee, Tyrone Taylor homered to back Adrian Houser (8-5), who pitched five shutout innings.
■ Padres 2, White Sox 1: At Chicago,
Jurickson Profar went 2-for-5 with a go-ahead
RBI single in the San Diego 11th.
■ Rays 12, Blue Jays 8: At Toronto, Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and six RBIS for Tampa Bay.
■ Dodgers 5, Giants 2: At San Francisco, Kike Hernandez hit a three-run homer in Los Angeles’ five-run sixth.
■ Nationals 10, Braves 9: At Atlanta, Jacob Young hit a go-ahead two-run single in the Washington ninth.
■ Pirates 3, Marlins 0: At Pittsburgh, Jack Suwinski hit a two-run double in Pittsburgh’s three-run eighth.
■ Phillies 9, Mets 1: At New York, Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and an RBI single.