Astros Win AL West Despite 81-81 Finish; Will Host White Sox

A 9-0 win over the Athletics, combined with Texas's loss at Minnesota, handed Houston the division on the regular season's final day and a home Wild Card matchup with Chicago.

The Houston Astros are American League West champions for the fifth time in six years, locking up the division in their final game of the regular season despite an 81-81 finish. The title belongs to a club that once sat 11 games below .500 and parted ways with its general manager in August.

Houston settled the race with a 9-0 victory over the Athletics in West Sacramento. As Nick Allen opened the eighth inning with a double and the Astros led the A's by eight, Texas fell 6-4 at Minnesota, a result that guaranteed Houston its ninth playoff berth in a 10-year span after the team missed the 2025 postseason. The division crown sends the Astros into a best-of-three Wild Card Series at home against the Chicago White Sox.

Houston finished a game clear of Texas, which wound up 80-82, though even a loss in the finale would not have cost them the title because they held the tiebreaker. At .500, they carry the lowest winning percentage ever for a postseason qualifier in a full-length season, undercutting the 82-80 mark of the 2005 San Diego Padres.

Manager Joe Espada described a year of wild swings and said it felt good to see the championship return to Houston. Looking back to a rough patch in early May, he suggested most clubs would have packed it in, and instead credited his players' character and their refusal to stop competing.

Yordan Alvarez anchored the lineup with a historic season, taking the AL batting title with a major-league-best .316 average, the lowest ever to lead the majors. He paired that with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, and said he told teammates that even with a 40-homer campaign, a batting title was a goal he had always wanted.

The roster absorbed major injuries along the way. Star infielder Carlos Correa has not played since May 4 after surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ankle, and 2025 All-Star right-hander Hunter Brown did not pitch between March 3 and June 16 because of a strained right shoulder. Brown said every club confronts adversity and that stretch simply happened to belong to Houston.

Shortstop Jeremy Peña, the 2022 World Series MVP, missed time from April 11 to May 18 with a strained right hamstring and again from June 28 to July 10 with a strained left calf. All-Star closer Josh Hader, slowed by left biceps tendinitis, did not appear in a game until June 3.

Through May 20 the Astros were 20-31, yet they never fell more than six games behind in a division where no team broke away. An 11-2 rout of the Rangers on July 31 pushed Houston alone into first, and the club held at least a share of the lead nearly the rest of the way. Brown stressed that every big-league game counts, that the season's last one demanded a win, and that the Astros have played with a postseason edge for weeks and feel ready for what comes next.

The White Sox visit Daikin Park on Tuesday, September 29, for the Wild Card Series opener, with first pitch set for 5:00 PM EDT and coverage on Peacock and NBCSN.