Astros Clinch Playoff Berth Behind 3 Home Run Performance by Yordan Alvarez

Yordan Alvarez hit home runs in his first three at bats to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on September 16th. The Astros (95-50) clinched a playoff berth with the victory, and with a 14 game lead over the Seattle Mariners, it won’t be long until they win the American League West. Houston is very likely to finish with the best record in the A.L.; the New York Yankees were 87-57 after losing at Milwaukee in extra innings.

Alvarez now has 36 home runs on the season, tied with Mike Trout for 2nd in the A.L. A significant development for the Astros was the performance of Justin Verlander. The right hander went on the injured list at the end of August with a calf injury and made his first start since returning. All he did was pitch five hitless innings and strike out nine on the way to his 17th victory of the season. He also lowered his ERA to 1.78. He leads the A.L. in both victories and ERA and should be considered a likely Cy Young Award winner, which would be his third. His performance this year is also pretty incredible given that he missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery.