WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Houston Astros won the American League West on Sunday, beating the Athletics 9–0 to finish 81–81 and become the first division champion in Major League Baseball history without a winning record.
Houston secured the division when Texas lost 6–4 at Minnesota while the Astros were still playing. The Rangers finished 80–82, one game behind Houston, which also held the tiebreaker between the clubs.
The Astros will host the Chicago White Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday at Daikin Park. It is Houston’s ninth postseason appearance in 10 years and its eighth division championship in that span.
Lucas Spence delivered a two-run triple during a four-run third inning that put Houston ahead. Jose Altuve’s run-scoring groundout and Yainer Diaz’s RBI double accounted for the first two runs before Spence drove in Diaz and Christian Walker.
Walker hit his 29th home run in the sixth, and Yordan Alvarez added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 6–0. Cam Smith’s RBI single and Jeremy Peña’s sacrifice fly extended the lead in the seventh. Houston scored once more on a double-play grounder in the eighth.
Six Astros pitchers combined to hold the Athletics to five hits. Peter Lambert worked two scoreless innings, and Ethan Pecko followed with three, striking out two without a walk. Miguel Ullola, Bryan King, Logan VanWey and Tatsuya Imai each added a scoreless inning.
Pecko earned the victory. Brady Basso took the loss after surrendering four runs in one inning for the Athletics, who finished 64–98.
Walker reached base four times with two hits and two walks. Smith, Peña and Diaz also had two hits apiece, while Spence drew three walks in addition to his triple. Alvarez went 1 for 4 and finished the regular season with a .316 batting average.
The division title completed a recovery from a 20–31 start in May, according to MLB.com. Houston missed the postseason a year ago but returned despite finishing at .500, leaving the Astros with home-field advantage for the opening round and a new start against Chicago.
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