A’s clinch with help from Astros
OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics clinched their first AL West title since 2013 on Monday night with an assist from the rival Houston Astros.
Houston lost, 6-1, to the Seattle Mariners, ending its three-year reign as division champion and making the A’s the first team in the majors to lock up a division crown in this pandemic-shortened season. They will be home for a best-of-three playoff series beginning Sept. 29.
Oakland was off Monday before opening an interleague series at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
Since last season ended, the slugging A’s have emphasized the need to win the division given they won 97 games each of the last two years and lost the AL wild-card game.
Oakland is in the playoffs for a third straight year and the sixth time in nine seasons.
A’s right-hander Mike Fiers was the whistleblower in the Astros’ offseason sign-stealing scandal when he publicly called out his former club for cheating in an article published by The Athletic in November.
Houston won a major league-best 107 games last season but lost to Washington in the World Series. The Astros brought in veteran manager Dusty Baker to lead the way in 2020.
ANGELS’ SIMMONS OPTS OUT
Shortstop Andrelton Simmons has opted out of the remainder of the Angels’ season.
The Angels announced the four-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop’s decision Tuesday before they faced the Padres.
The Angels are still technically in the playoff race with five games left in the regular season, and Simmons clearly caught the Angels by surprise, although the club said it respected his decision.
The 31-year-old Simmons, who can be a free agent this winter, is finishing his fifth year with the Angels. After spraining his ankle in late July and missing 22 games, Simmons is batting .297 with 10 RBI while playing his usual stellar defense, albeit with four errors in 30 games.
“At this time, I feel this is the best decision for me and my family,” Simmons said in a statement. “We don’t know what the future holds, but we would like to sincerely thank the Angels organization and Angels fans for welcoming and making us feel at home.”
CARDS’ HUDSON SHUT DOWN
The St. Louis Cardinals shut down Dakota Hudson for the season by transferring him to the 45-day injured list Tuesday while activating reliever Kodi Whitley and optioning Junior Fernandez to their alternate training site.
Hudson left his start last Thursday against Pittsburgh after two innings with elbow tightness.