A strike away from stalling a rally, Yordan Alvarez reached below his strike zone and started a torrent. His line drive landed over the right-field fence, erased an early deficit and afforded the Astros a lead they never relinquished.
Houston added home runs from Jason Castro, Yuli Gurriel and Kyle Tucker to beat the A’s 10-4 and clinch home-field advantage throughout the American League Division Series against the White Sox. Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday at Minute Maid Park.
The White Sox’ 5-4 win in Detroit on Saturday brought them to 41-41 on the road. Chicago has a 52-27 mark at Guaranteed Rate Field to go with a .792 OPS. The lineup’s OPS is 63 points lower on the road.
“It feels great for us, feels great for our team. It feels great for the city,” manager Dusty Baker said of clinching home-field advantage. “This is what you play for and what you wanted. We still have another game to go and we’re going to try and win that game, too, finish strong and get some momentum going into the playoffs.”
Alvarez’s three-run home began a bludgeoning of A’s starter Paul Blackburn. The righthander survived two innings and surrendered six earned runs. Three came from Alvarez’s home run during the first.
Castro touched him for a solo shot in the second. Gurriel started the third with one of his own, bringing Oakland manager Bob Melvin from the dugout to rescue his starter.
Gurriel’s 2-for-4 night left him leading the American League with a .318 batting average headed into Sunday’s regular-season finale. Presuming he keeps the spot, the 37-year-old first baseman will become the second player in franchise history to claim a batting title.
Houston’s season-long hesitance to allow starter Jake Odorizzi a third look at a lineup continued. Odorizzi threw only 69 pitches across 4 ⅔ innings. He yielded two runs and the leadoff man reached base in four of the five frames he started.
Baker allowed Odorizzi to face one batter — leadoff man Tony Kemp — three times. Kemp’s fifth-inning single brought Baker from the dugout and forced Houston’s bullpen to finish the game.
Five relievers teamed to tame an A’s team that is playing for little more than pride. Saturday must’ve shattered it. Oakland made three outs on the bases, committed a throwing error and stranded 11 baserunners. Kemp provided their only positive with a four-hit showing. Tucker robbed him of a game-tying, three-run home run in the sixth that would’ve made it five.
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Astros cruise past A's, claim home-field advantage for ALDS - Houston Chronicle
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