The Houston Astros will indeed have control over their own destiny heading into game 162 of the season thanks to a massive 13-2 blowout win over the Athletics on Saturday night in West Sacramento, Calif.
This was quite literally a must-win game for all practical purposes of potentially winning the American League West division and making the postseason. The Astros are now 80-81 and are currently first in the AL West thanks to tiebreaker prior to last game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon.
The Texas Rangers had won earlier on Saturday, and that made it an absolute necessity for the Astros to take care of business against the A's. If not, Houston would've lost control of its own fate. The Astros delivered and put together one of their best performances of the month with an 11-run margin of victory.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After Friday's disappointing loss to the A's with six runs given up in the sixth, Houston had to bounce-back and it did. The offense hit five home runs while having 16 hits. The entire lineup basically contributed.
Most importantly, the Astros needed some great starting pitching from right-hander Hayden Wesneski . The bullpen has been running on fumes, and the starter had to go deep if the Astros were to have any chance in the last game of the regular season.
The Houston native in Wesneski put together his second best start of the year so far and went seven innings with only one earned run allowed. The 28-year-old had an outstanding pitch count of just 83 pitches, with 58 of them for strikes. Wesneski walked one and struck out five, while he also gave up six hits.
"That's exactly what we needed. Able to reset the bullpen going into the last game of the season in really good shape," Astros manager Joe Espada said per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com . "Started with Wesneski. Set the tone early, a tone of strikes."
It's possible the Astros didn't bring him out there for the eighth because he could potentially be the Game 3 starter of the Wild Card round and the game was well out of hand with a 12-2 lead. Right-hander Ronel Blanco added two shutout innings of relief to close out the third game of the series.
Coming back from Tommy John surgery this year, Wesneski has looked efficient and effective. He fills up the strike zone. The seven innings of work were a huge sigh of relief to the overtaxed bullpen. Wesneski drew multiple double plays and also got early contact in counts.
The Astros offense showed off their power big time. Shortstop Jeremy Pea hit two home runs, and his two-run shot in the third inning was crucial as it gave the Astros a 3-1 lead. Pea went four for six overall. Yordan Alvarez demonstrated why he's the favorite for AL MVP and made it happen yet again when it was needed in the fifth inning.
He crushed his 42nd homer of the season over 400 feet. That broke the game open at 6-1 and allowed the Astros pitchers to cruise to the finish line. It came with two outs and runners in scoring position. Alvarez hasn't gotten too many opportunities like that in September, but delivered in a big spot yet again.
Alvarez has 10 homers along with a 1.055 OPS when faced with two outs. Additionally, third baseman Isaac Paredes hit his 25th home run of the season in the first inning and got the scoring started with a solo shot. Paredes also went three for five on the night.
Jose Altuve also chipped in with two RBI singles, one in the seventh and the other in the eighth inning. Rookie sensation centerfielder Lucas Spence continued his magic and hit his fourth home run of the series so far. Spence also had an RBI double in the seventh.
It was a busy night at the plate for the Astros offense, and they'll look to continue the scoring momentum on Sunday afternoon. They have to because the Astros have a bullpen game and no true starter.
This is one of the wildest division races in MLB history, and one team will make to October with the worst division winner record of all time. The Astros hope this performance can help carry them there.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Astros Close in on AL West Title After Rout of Athletics in Game 161 .
