Springer ignites Astros to take AL West Division Title!

The Astros exploded for 13 runs winning their third straight division title, fueled by the power of George Springer and the pitching of Justin Verlander.

The Houston Astros won the AL West title in fitting fashion with a 13-5 blowout victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Springer, Verlander, and the rest of the team weren’t about to wait and win this one on the road, they were determined to celebrate with their fans at Minute Maid Park on their last home game of the season.

George Springer started things off early hitting the first pitch of the game for his 12th leadoff home run of the season and followed that up with two more Springer Dingers on the day. That was the first time in his career he knocked three homers in a single game.

Justin Verlander went six innings allowing two earned runs on six hits and two walks, striking out five batters. He is now six strikeouts short of that 3000 career strikeout milestone with one more start before the season ends. Verlander is the first Major League pitcher to reach 20 wins this year, padding his resume for the 2019 Cy Young Award.

It was also good the see Brad Peacock back out on the mound after he was activated today off of the Injured List. He pitched a hitless seventh inning allowing one walk and a strikeout in his return. He could be instrumental for the Astros in the postseason if everything goes well with his shoulder and he gets in a few more innings of work to shake off the rust.

The Astros blew the game wide open in the fifth inning scoring six runs and sending ten batters up to the plate. The Angels went through three pitchers before they would get out of the inning. Alex Bregman helped out in the inning with his 39th homer of the season in his quest to overtake Mike Trout for the League MVP.

Yordan Alvarez was another player who helped himself out for a postseason award. Not that there’s any doubt he will win the Rookie of the Year Award, he made a statement today going 4-for-4 including two doubles.

The Astros are celebrating in the dugout now, but it will be back to business as they embark on a six-game west coast road trip to close out the regular season. They still remain one-half a game ahead of the Yankees for the home-field advantage with New York’s victory over the Blue Jays.