Astros wins the title in 2019 in the West Division of AL

HOUSTON – The Astros were not going to be denied that day. Not with Justin Verlander on the mound with a chance to win 20 games. Not with George Springer swinging the bat as he wanted to wear the day alone. And not with a sold-out crowd ready to launch

HOUSTON – The Astros were not going to be denied that day. Not with Justin Verlander on the mound with a chance to win 20 games. Not with George Springer swinging the bat as he wanted to wear the day alone. And not with a sold-out crowd ready to hold a party at Minute Maid Park.

Even though the Astros were leading the American Hockey League with 10 games in June and were never really threatened in the division, they were still in the mood to celebrate what seemed like a fatality on Sunday after beat the Angels, 13-5, to win their third consecutive AL West title.

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"It's our first goal to win the division," said Alex Bregman, the Astros shortstop. "Everyone here is happy about that, but no one is happy."

Springer scored home goals in each of his first three games and Verlander won 20 wins for the second time in his career, allowing the Astros to win their ninth division title. The Astros (102-54) have kept their best MLB record in front of the Yankees and need only a win in their last six games to equal the franchise record of the most wins of the season.

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"I'm happy for the fans, happy for the city and happy for our team," Springer said. "We have to do a lot of things and do a lot of hard work. That's what we did and we start to see it. "

When Roberto Osuna, closer, pushed Kaleb Cowart to qualify for the final, the Astros headed to the center of the field to party. Soon, they danced in jubilant jubilation. A few minutes later, manager AJ Hinch told his club that they were the best team in the major leagues and that they were facing great expectations. He asked them to suspend another World Series pennant.

"We worked for that all year, and it is not easy," Hinch said. "These guys got to work and we arrive at the finish line and win the West. We feel really good about it. We love this team. We can accomplish great things and this is the first step, hopefully, of some of these celebrations if we continue to play. "

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After winning the World Series 2017 championship, the Astros lost five times last year against the Red Sox, eventual champions of the AL Championship series. But Houston brought back his main players and a rotation led by Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Expectations were high.

The Astros overcame significant injuries at Springer, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve, but they were encouraged by the addition of rookie hitter Yordan Alvarez. . They became the favorites of the world series.

"I do not stop telling those guys that you have to appreciate the team we have and his time and his band," Hinch said. "Doing it one after the other is great for the people who have been here. We also have guys who won their first AL West with us. We just keep a winning culture, a winning mindset. We are ready to play every day. We will impregnate ourselves. We have had a lot of individual achievements this year, but this has never been the case. It was about winning. "

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The baseball operations president and general manager of Astros, Jeff Luhnow, who said that this year's team was better than last year's club that had been rejected at the ALCS, said the day finish was his favorite day of the year.

"It means we have actually accomplished the first major step," Luhnow said. "We know we have a lot of work to do, because the eight teams that will stay after the Wild Card Game will also be good. We have gathered here a team that can beat any of them in any series. "

Verlander (20-6) has withdrawn five of his five innings and is six straight to become the 18th pitcher to reach 3,000 career outs. He will have one last chance to get there this season when he faces the Angels on Saturday in Anaheim during his last regular season outing. Verlander did not reach the bar until 2011, when he had won 24 games with the Tigers.

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"Call me old school, but wins mean something to me," said Verlander. "I think our job as a starting pitcher is to play out late in games and throw a lot of games. That's how you win baseball games. It's a fickle statistic. You can lose loved ones when you wear well and you can win when you do not do well, but after 34 starts, if you do your work, more often than not, you will win a victory. record."

Springer scored in the first and second rounds of Jose Rodriguez, the Angels starter, and Jose Suarez, of the fourth offense, to give the Astros a 4-2 lead. It was tied with Bregman for the team lead with 38 homers, but Bregman scored a two-point homer in the fifth – his 39th – to give the lead a 6-2 lead. Alvarez had four hits. Aledmys Diaz added a three-point run to sixth.

The Astros scored 60-21 at home, joining the 1998 Yankees as the only teams in the past 40 years to win 60 home games in a season. Over the past week, they will try to keep the Yankees at bay and gain an advantage on their court thanks to the ALCS.

"We have to take one step at a time," said Bregman. "We have a few games left in the regular season and we want to finish in force. We want our guys to get into the playoffs by feeling healthy, and I think we got off to a good start. "