- A 9-0 win over the Athletics left the Houston Astros at 81-81, one game clear of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
- Every AL West club finished at .500 or below, and Houston’s mark is the worst ever for a full-season division winner, under the 2005 Padres’ 82-80.
- The Astros are +800 and the Chicago White Sox are +650 to win the American League pennant.
- The 84-78 White Sox won three more games than Houston and still open the series on the road Tuesday at Daikin Park.
HOUSTON – The Houston Astros won the American League West with an 81-81 record, sealed Sunday by a 9-0 shutout of the Athletics, and by The Associated Press’ accounting no full-season playoff team has ever gone in with a lower winning percentage. Houston opens a home Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
Houston Denies Texas On The Final Day
Houston’s shutout of the Athletics came as Texas was losing 6-4 at the Minnesota Twins, and a race the two clubs had entered the last day tied at 80-81 ended a game apart. With every AL West club finishing at .500 or worse, the Astros took the division with the lowest winning percentage of any full-season playoff team, per The Associated Press, under the 82-80 of the 2005 San Diego Padres.
The Board Doesn’t Match The Seeding
USA Gambling Sites latest board has Houston at +800 to win the American League pennant and Chicago at +650 – a shorter price for the No. 6 seed than the No. 3 seed drew, even with the Astros hosting the first two games. The gap tracks the regular season more than the bracket. The White Sox won three more games than Houston and still had to settle for a wild card after Cleveland edged them by one game in the AL Central.
Home field puts the Astros in control of Games 1 and 2, but the market is treating this series as the better 162-game team walking into the tougher building, not the other way around.
Game 1 At Daikin Park
First pitch Tuesday is 5 p.m. ET, and every game of the best-of-three is in Houston. Neither manager had named a Game 1 starter as of Sunday night, per MLB.com, and Houston was weighing a bullpen game for the opener. Game 2 is Wednesday at the same time, with a deciding Game 3, if necessary, set for Thursday.