Houston Astros: How the team can clinch the AL West

After yesterday’s 8-6 win against the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros could win the American League West division title if things go right today.

The aforementioned sentence is contingent on if the Los Angeles Angels fall to the Texans Rangers and the Houston Astros triumph over the Seattle Mariners. If that happens, the Astros would have their first division title since 2001 and seventh overall in franchise history.

After last year’s disappointing finish where they let the AL West title go to the Rangers, the Astros made it a priority to put the team in the best position to make sure a division title would be in their grasp this time around.

The Houston Astros spent 140 days of the season in first place in the American League West. They looked unstoppable in the early going and many consider them early World Series contenders. Their offense and pitching looked like it had no weakness.

Speaking of offense, how great is it to see Jose Altuve tear the cover off the ball this year? Just look at his line up to this point in the season. Other starters such as George Springer and Carlos Correa (before his injury) provided solid back up to Altuve’s production.

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Springer even took over for Altuve in the leadoff spot and did not disappoint. Blink and you might miss a lead-off home run from Springer, which he did more than once.

But it wasn’t just the stars than provided offense, role players like Josh Reddick, Marwin Gonzalez and Nori Aoki (before he was traded) provided run support too. You could not mess with the Astros with men on base, they could hurt you in more ways than one.

The 2017 season saw the emergence of pitchers like Chris Devenski and Charlie Morton. “The Dragon” sports an 8-4 record up to this point with a 2.75 ERA. He came mostly in relief but held the fort down for Ken Giles and company. Morton is 12-7 with a 3.75 ERA.

Top of the rotation guys Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers did their usual, mowing down opposing lineups with relative ease. Keuchel didn’t have the Cy Young year he had in 2015, but still has been very effective. The starting rotation did have some struggles this year, but the acquisition of Justin Verlander should help them tremendously.

Next: Why the postseason will solidify Carlos Beltran's legacy

While for most of the season, we all knew that the Astros would eventually win the division with the insurmountable lead they created. However, since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, a title and the jubilation that will come with it will be extra special for the city who has experienced so much pain and still has a long road to recovery ahead of them.

#HoustonStrong and Go Astros!

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