PHOENIX — With an 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks in the final game of the season, the Houston Astros claimed the American League West division title for the third straight season and the sixth time in the last seven years.
The Astros finished the year with a 90-72 record.
Houston's win coupled with the Rangers' loss to the Mariners sealed the deal on the last day of the regular season. The Astros and Rangers had the same exact record, but Houston held the tiebreaker over Texas thanks to winning the regular-season series.
Houston now waits to find out who they'll be facing in the American League Division Series, which begins at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, Oct. 7. They'll take on the winner of the Wild Card matchup between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. That best-of-three series will be played in Minneapolis and starts on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
The team also announced that the store in centerfield at Minute Maid Park would be open until Monday evening for fans to get division champion gear. They also said breakfast would be served from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Monday.
A season of injuries and inconsistencies ended with another division title. Even for a team that won the World Series last fall, that's worth celebrating.
The Astros rallied to clinch their third straight AL West title behind Cristian Javier's six strong innings and Alex Bregman's two-run homer.
“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.”
Needing a win 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 had a 5-0 lead after two innings and Javier (10-5) held an Arizona 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. José Abreu added a two-run homer in the seventh to clinch Houston's sixth AL West title in seven years after the Rangers lost 1-0 to Seattle.
The Astros have a first-round bye in the AL playoffs while Arizona will play at Milwaukee in a best-of-three NL wild card series that starts Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, we kept it within striking distance and put it together at the end, which makes it very special,” Houston general manager Dana Brown said.
Houston had a solid follow up to its second World Series title, finishing 90-72 after going 106-56 last season. The Astros' fourth straight victory to close the regular season gave manager Dusty Baker his 13th season with at least 90 wins.
“I didn't want to end on 89 and we got to 90,” Baker said in between champagne dousings.
Still within reach of the AL West title, the Astros jumped on the Diamondbacks early, needing two pitches to take a 2-0 lead.
Jose Altuve opened with a single and Bregman followed with his 25th homer, a two-run shot to left. Houston scored another run on Arizona first baseman Emmanuel Rivera's throwing error and went up 4-0 on Jeremy Peña's run-scoring single.
Tucker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and made it 6-0 in the fifth with a triple and head's up baserunning after Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar held the relay throw.
HOMER, NO HOMER
Tucker’s bid to become the second member of Houston’s 30-30 went on a wild ride.
Tucker’s triple and run in the fifth was initially ruled an error on the Diamondbacks, then a fielder’s choice.
After consultation with the Elias Sports Bureau, the official scorer changed it to an inside-the-park homer, seemingly giving Tucker his 30th homer.
One inning later, after another consultation, Tucker’s hit was changed back to a triple and fielder’s choice, leaving Jeff Bagwell (1997 and 1999) as the only Houston player with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season.
DIAMONDBACKS ATTENDANCE
The Diamondbacks drew 30,703 fans for their final home game, finishing with 1,961,182 for the season. It was Arizona’s highest home attendance since eclipsing 2.1 million in 2019.
UP NEXT
Houston: The Astros have a first-round bye in the AL.
Arizona: The Diamondbacks will face Milwaukee in an NL wild card playoff series starting Tuesday.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
The Astros got on the board early in Sunday's season finale. Jose Altuve opened the game with a first-pitch single and Alex Bregman followed with a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw.
By the time the first inning was over, the Astros had a 4-0 lead.
They tacked on a run in the second inning and another in the fifth inning made it 6-0.
Jose Abreu connected on a two-run homer in the seventh inning making it 8-0 Houston.
Arizona avoided the shutout by scoring a run in the eighth inning.
With the loss on Sunday, the Rangers fell to a Wild Card spot and will take on the Rays in Tampa to see who will advance to the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Astros celebrated in the locker room after the win.
