Verlander stars in AL West clincher

HOUSTON — When the Astros traded for Justin Verlander less than three weeks ago, they envisioned days like this.

Verlander struck out 10 over seven innings in his first home start, and the Astros clinched the AL West with a 7-1 victory over the Mariners on Sunday.

“The story is almost too good to be true,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We trade for him for this exact reason to come up in big moments. He was locked in from the very beginning. Nobody better to have on the mound and nobody better to celebrate with.”

The Astros acquired the ace from the Tigers on Aug. 31, just minutes before the deadline. He had made two road starts before his Minute Maid Park debut.

“I don’t think you could ask for a better introduction for me to the city of Houston than this,” Verlander said. “First home start would have been great. First home start and a win would have been great. First home start and to win in a division-clinching game — you can’t make that up. And I’m looking forward to hopefully many more wins.”

George Springer, Carlos Correa, Derek Fisher and Marwin Gonzalez homered for the Astros, who won their first division title since 2001. They became the first team to win titles in three divisions, having also won the NL West and NL Central.

“It means a lot because I was here when we lost 100 games three years in a row,” Jose Altuve said. “Now I’m part of some winning teams, and that means a lot to me.”

The Astros’ next goal is to try to gain home-field advantage in the postseason by finishing with the best record in the AL. They led the AL for most of the season, but the Indians moved ahead with their recent 22-game winning streak.