George Springer, Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros put a check mark in this month’s box and amid the celebration of clinching their third straight American League West title, they were already thinking ahead to what they might achieve next month.
“You can’t ever take the first goal for granted,” Verlander said. “I know everybody says we’re going to win the World Series, but you can’t do that without this first. So, step one complete. Now we have the divisional round coming up and we’ll ... prepare for that and try to win 11 games.”
Springer on Sunday hit a career-high three homers and Verlander posted his MLB-leading 20th win as the Astros secured the division crown in grand fashion, routing the Los Angeles Angels 13-5.
Photo: AFP
A raucous crowd at Minute Maid Park that was cheering from Verlander’s first pitch got even louder as Springer homered three times in the first four innings.
The Astros kept breaking away and improved to 102-54, half a game ahead of the New York Yankees for the best record in the majors.
After the final out, the Astros held a bouncing group hug in the middle of the diamond and posed for a team picture. It has not been determined who they face in the playoffs as they try for their second World Series in three years.
Manager A.J. Hinch spoke to the team in the clubhouse as the players broke out the bubbly and began a spraying celebration.
“I don’t ever want to disrespect the things we’ve already accomplished, but when you’re in the moment everything feels like it’s the best of all time,” Hinch said. “We’ve done a lot of good things around here over the last five years that I’ve been here. Every accomplishment seems to be building and building to being better. I like hanging flags: flags for divisions matter, flags for the World Series matter, and I want our guys to appreciate that.”
Springer, the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 World Series, had two chances to tie the big league record for home runs in a game. He popped up with the bases loaded in the fifth and grounded out in the seventh.
Verlander (20-6) yielded six hits and two runs in five innings to reach 20 wins for the second time in his career and the first since winning the American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award in 2011 when he went 24-5 for Detroit.
This season’s Cy Young front-runner struck out five to leave him six strikeouts shy of becoming the 18th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000.
The 36-year-old has fanned 288 this season, second most in his career and second in the majors behind teammate Gerrit Cole.
Verlander, who leads the league with a 2.53 ERA, is the first Astros pitcher to win 20 games since Dallas Keuchel went 20-8 in 2015 when he won the Cy Young.
It was the second time that Verlander started a game in which the Astros clinched the division after he did it soon after he was traded from Detroit in 2017.
“The last time I clinched the division for the Houston Astros we went on to do some pretty special things that year,” he said. “Glad to be out there. These moments as an organization are so special. I’m just so happy to be a part of it.”
Elsewhere, the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot by edging the Cubs 3-2, the Brewers beat the Pirates 4-3, the Marlins defeated the Nationals 5-3, the Dodgers routed the Rockies 7-4, the Indians pummeled the Phillies 10-1, the Yankees battered the Blue Jays 8-3 and the Twins toppled the Royals 12-8.
The Rangers routed the Athletics 8-3, the Red Sox defeated the Rays 7-4, the Giants beat the Braves 4-1, the Padres downed the Diamondbacks 6-4 in 10 innings, the Mets mastered the Reds 6-3, the Tigers tamed the White Sox 6-3 and the Orioles edged the Mariners 2-1.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two