The Houston Astros won the American League West on the final day of the regular season with an 81-81 record, the lowest winning percentage for a postseason team in a non-shortened season, according to the Associated Press via ESPN. The previous low belonged to the 2005 San Diego Padres, who won the NL West at 82-80.
Houston beat the Athletics 9-0 on Sunday, but the division was decided before the final out: the Texas Rangers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins, leaving Texas at 80-82. The Astros held the tiebreaker over the Rangers and would have won the division even with a loss. It is Houston's fifth AL West title in six years and its ninth postseason trip in 10 years, after missing the playoffs in 2025.
How the finale played out
Rookie Lucas Spence hit a two-run triple in a four-run third inning, per the AP, and the 9-0 final was confirmed by Sports Radio Service. Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 with an RBI single to finish at .316 and win his first AL batting title; he also finished with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, per ESPN.
The season that got here
The Astros were 20-31 through May 20 and fell as far as 11 games under .500. Carlos Correa missed time after May 4 with a torn tendon, Hunter Brown was out from March 3 to June 16 with a shoulder strain, Jeremy Peña had two separate injuries and Josh Hader did not pitch until June 3, per ESPN. Houston took sole possession of first place on July 31 with an 11-2 win over Texas.
The club traded Lance McCullers Jr. to the Brewers in July, and on Aug. 24 it parted ways with general manager Dana Brown in what the team called a mutual decision, one day after blowing a six-run lead in a loss to the A's at Daikin Park. Tatsuya Imai threw six hitless innings in the Astros' combined no-hitter against the Rangers in May.
"It's been a roller coaster of a season, but just to be here and know that the division is back in Houston, that the crown is back. It's a good feeling," manager Joe Espada said, per the AP.
The playoff field
As the AL's No. 3 seed, Houston hosts the No. 6 Chicago White Sox, who clinched a berth two years after a modern-record 121 losses, in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday. The Philadelphia Phillies claimed the final NL spot on Sunday with a 7-3 win over the Rays, holding off Arizona. The full bracket, per MLB.com:
- AL: 1. Rays (bye), 2. Guardians (bye), 3. Astros, 4. Yankees, 5. Red Sox, 6. White Sox
- NL: 1. Brewers (bye), 2. Dodgers (bye), 3. Braves, 4. Padres, 5. Cubs, 6. Phillies
- Wild Card Series: Red Sox at Yankees, White Sox at Astros, Cubs at Padres, Phillies at Braves
The Division Series begin Oct. 3, the League Championship Series run Oct. 11-20 and the World Series is scheduled for Oct. 23-31.
Source: ESPN (Associated Press), MLB.com
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