PHOENIX (AP) — The Houston Astros rallied to clinch their third straight AL West title, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1 on Sunday behind Christian Javier's six strong innings and Alex Bregman's two-run homer.
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.
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.
The Diamondbacks backed into the playoffs, scoring two runs in three games against the Astros to close the regular season on a four-game losing streak. Arizona finished 84-78 after going 74-88 last season and losing 110 games the year before.
The Astros and Diamondbacks had duel celebrations Saturday night after clinching playoff spots.
Houston did it with a 1-0 victory over Arizona that led to a muted reaction in the clubhouse for the reigning World Series champions.
The Diamondbacks celebrated in the dugout when Cincinnati's 15-6 loss to St. Louis clinched their first playoff berth since 2017. They had a much more raucous celebration after the game, a party that spilled over into the pool behind Chase Field's right-center wall.
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.
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.
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