Osuna greeted with boos in Toronto return

Roberto Osuna pitched the ninth inning to earn the save in his return to Rogers Centre, and the Houston Astros inched closer to securing the American League West by beating the Blue Jays 5-3 on Monday in the first game of Toronto’s final home series of the season.

Osuna, the former Blue Jays closer who was arrested in May and charged in connection with an alleged domestic incident, was met with a chorus of boos from the 23,463 fans when he was announced into the game, and as he threw each pitch.

He struck out a batter and worked around a one-out single to earn his 19th save of the season.

The 23-year-old right-hander was suspended without pay for 75 games in June for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy and traded to Houston at the deadline a month later. Osuna’s court case is scheduled to continue Tuesday in Toronto.

At St. Petersburg, Fla., the Yankees’ 4-1 win over Tampa Bay eliminated the Rays and ensured a post-season berth for Oakland, which is likely to be New York’s wild card opponent but also is still alive in the AL West race. The Yankees began the night 11/2 games ahead of the Athletics for homefield advantage.

At Boston, the Red Sox broke a 106-year-old franchise record with their 106th victory, clinching home-field advantage through the post-season by beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 thanks to a pair of hits from major-league batting leader Mookie Betts.

The win assures the Red Sox of the best record in baseball this season and home-field advantage through the World Series, if they make it that far.

For now, they know they will open the Division Series at Fenway Park on Oct. 5 against the winner of the AL wild card game between the Yankees and most likely Oakland.