WEST SACRAMENTO — The Houston Astros kept control of the American League West race with a decisive 13-2 victory over the Athletics on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park, slamming five home runs to stay level with Texas entering the final day of the regular season.
Jeremy Peña homered twice and Yordan Alvarez broke the game open with a three-run blast in the fifth inning, while Hayden Wesneski delivered seven strong innings. Isaac Paredes opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first, Peña added a two-run shot in the third for a 3-0 lead, and Alvarez stretched it to 6-1 with his 42nd homer of the season. Houston added three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to complete the rout. The result came hours after Texas beat Minnesota 6-2 to briefly move a half-game ahead.
Wesneski held the A's to two runs, one earned, on six hits over seven innings to finish the regular season 6-2 with a 3.25 ERA after returning from Tommy John surgery. The lopsided margin allowed Houston to rest high-leverage relievers AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu and closer Josh Hader for Sunday. Houston has not announced a starting pitcher for the finale.
The Astros and Rangers are both 80-81 entering Sunday's Game 162, but Houston owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series against its Lone Star State rival. That leaves Houston in control of its destiny — the Astros win the division with either a victory over the A's on Sunday or a Rangers loss to the Twins. Texas needs to beat Minnesota and have the A's beat Houston to claim the crown; if both teams lose, Houston still wins the division. The AL West champion will host the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.
Alvarez, who is closing in on the AL batting title and will end the regular season as the favorite to win AL Most Valuable Player, tied for the fifth-most homers in a single season in Astros history with his 42nd, moving within one of Baltimore's Pete Alonso for the AL lead. The pressure was heightened after the Rangers' 6-2 win over the Twins earlier Saturday had put Texas temporarily on top.