Astros overcome terrible start to clinch 4th straight AL West title with win over Mariners

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros clinched their fourth straight AL West title with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, overcoming a terrible start to reach the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year.

“That’s our goal every year we get to spring training is to win the division,” new manager Joe Espada said. “That’s where everything starts. And their commitment and their purpose is behind everything we do … and that’s something that we take very seriously here.”

The Astros are the first team to win the AL West in four straight seasons since Oakland won five times in a row from 1971-75. It’s the first time they’ve won four consecutive division titles, after winning three in a row on two previous occasions (1997-99 and 2017-19).

Houston limped out to a 7-19 record and trailed Seattle by a season-high 10 games on June 18. But the Astros won their next seven to start a 13-2 stretch as they improved to 46-42 by July 5.

They moved past the Mariners into first place in mid-August and cruised home to their latest division crown by going 79-53 after that awful 26-game stretch.

The Astros overcame numerous injuries to return to the postseason in their first year under Espada, who was hired as a first-time manager after Dusty Baker’s retirement.

Houston’s rotation was decimated by injuries early, with José Urquidy and Cristian Javier both undergoing Tommy John surgery in June, and Framber Valdez missing most of April with elbow inflammation.

The injuries forced the Astros to insert Ronel Blanco and rookie Spencer Arrighetti into the rotation. Blanco threw a no-hitter in his season debut and is second on the team with 12 wins and a 2.88 ERA. Arrighetti has made 28 starts and was selected AL rookie of the month for August after going 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA.

But their problems weren’t limited to pitching. Houston was left scrambling to find an answer at first base after releasing veteran José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contract after he hit .124 through June 13. The lineup went almost three months without Kyle Tucker after the All-Star right fielder fractured his right shin on a foul ball June 3.

Yet the Astros found a way to overcome those obstacles and get back to the playoffs again, as they aim for a third World Series championship after winning in 2017 and 2022.

Houston, which has reached seven consecutive AL Championship Series, captured two other pennants during that stretch before losing World Series matchups with Washington in 2019 and Atlanta in 2021.

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