Verlander gets 20th win, seals third AL West title
Winning the American League West is not the pinnacle, only a prerequisite. Greater goals remain for the Astros, a franchise functioning during the greatest era of its existence. From the 14th day of February, when they again assembled in West Palm Beach, Fla., as the division’s best team, Sunday seemed a foregone conclusion.
The Astros tried Friday and Saturday to actualize it. Friday featured no help from the Oakland Athletics. Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels stalled the inevitable. Champagne was rolled away, and the clubhouse remained dry for one more night.
“We just keep on keeping a winning culture, a winning mindset. We show up ready to play every day,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s the thing I’m most proud of. We just stay current in the moment.”
No better scenario than Sunday’s encapsulated that essence. Losses rarely linger, and the promise of the next day is perpetually positive. Two of every five days will feature a Cy Young Award frontrunner. On this day, the Astros turned to Justin Verlander, a man on the precipice of another awe-inspiring accomplishment in a career full of them.
Behind the ace stood nine men who comprise baseball’s most unrelenting lineup. Seven members of the batting order have hit 20 home runs. Three have 30. Two are tantalizingly close to 40.
“I think we have a better club than last year,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said.
Sunday, they sought their first coronation. The Astros played before the 15th sellout crowd of a 60win home season. The final salvo, a 13-5 victory against the Angels, secured a third consecutive American League West title — the ninth division championship in franchise history. Not since 199799 had Houston, then a member of the NL Central, won three straight division crowns.
“This is just the first step of hopefully what are a few of these celebrations if we keep playing like this,” said Hinch, a manager drenched in domestic beer and yelling over another repeated rendition of “Old Town Road” on the clubhouse speakers.
Entering Sunday’s start, Verlander stood 11 strikeouts shy of 3,000 in his career, a feat only 17 other pitchers have achieved. Five solid innings stood between him and 20 regular-season wins.
Verlander relishes pitcher wins, even if the era of baseball he now dominates does not. He attained his 20th victory, though in a taxing display. Verlander threw only five innings and struck out just five Angels, putting his career K count at 2,994.