Houston clinched the AL West when Texas, which entered the final day level with the Astros at 80-81, lost 6-4 to Minnesota; Houston held the season-series tiebreaker. The Astros then beat Oakland 9-0 to finish 81-81, becoming MLB’s first division winner at .500 or worse.
Houston is the No. 3 seed, the lowest of the three division champions, and will face No. 6 Chicago in the wild-card round. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds; all three wild-card teams have better records than the Astros.
