WEST SACRAMENTO -- One of the most bizarre division races in recent memory will come down to Game 162, because that’s exactly the way things were meant to play out in the American League West in 2026.
In a division that no team seemed it wanted to win, the Astros played Saturday night like a club thirsting to return to the postseason by blasting five home runs, including a game-breaking three-run homer from Yordan Alvarez and two from Jeremy Peña, to crush the A’s, 13-2, at Sutter Health Park and keep pace with the Rangers atop the AL West standings.
“We didn’t want to be in this situation, but it’s what it came down to,” Alvarez said. “It’s do or die tomorrow.”
The Astros and the Rangers, who beat the Twins earlier Saturday, are both 80-81 entering Sunday’s regular-season finale, but Houston has the tiebreaker because it won the season series over its Lone Star State rivals.
That means the Astros can win the division with either a victory over the A’s on Sunday or a Rangers loss to the Twins. Texas needs to beat Minnesota on Sunday and have the A’s beat the Astros to win the division. If both teams lose, the Astros win the division.
The AL West champion will play host to the White Sox in the Wild Card Series, beginning Tuesday.
“Simple as, ‘win and you’re in,’ baby,” Astros starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski said. “Let’s not make it too complicated.”
The pressure was on the Astros by the time Saturday’s game started, with the Rangers having already beaten the Twins, 6-2, to move a half-game ahead. Isaac Paredes put the Astros on top with a solo homer in the first inning, and Peña swatted a two-run homer in the third for a 3-0 lead.
Alvarez, who will end the regular season as the favorite to win AL Most Valuable Player, clubbed his 42nd homer of the season in the fifth to stretch the lead to 6-1. The 42 homers are tied for the fifth-most in a single season in Astros history, and put Alvarez one behind Baltimore’s Pete Alonso for the AL lead.
“We feel good,” Alvarez said. “We feel very positive. I think the lineup today, the job that we did today, is a preview for what we can do tomorrow.”
Alvarez is hitting .316 heading into the final game and should wrap up his first batting title Sunday. The only other player in the AL hitting higher than .300 is Chander Simpson of the Rays (.306), but he's not expected to play Sunday.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted, and I’m really close now,” Alvarez said.
Wesneski held the A’s to two runs (one earned) and six hits in seven innings to finish the regular season with a 6-2 record and a 3.25 ERA after coming back from Tommy John surgery. He was extremely efficient, throwing only 82 pitches, and allowed the Astros to rest their bullpen, meaning key relievers AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu and closer Josh Hader will be well-rested Sunday.
“[Wesneski] threw a ton of strikes, and every time he got some guys on base, he got the ground-ball double play, so we were able to get some outs,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It was very important for us to do that tonight.”
Peter Lambert, who threw 62 pitches in 2 2/3 innings in Thursday’s win over the A’s, will start Sunday on two days of rest with hopes of delivering a couple of innings. From there, the Astros have enough rested arms to get the ball to their high-leverage relievers at the back end.
“The goal was to give us a good, quality start, just like always, and to win the game,” Wesneski said. “You don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have to go nine [innings]. It’s too much. We need to get through the first and give our team a chance to win the game. We scored 13 runs. At the end of the day, we’re going to win a lot of those games.”
After Friday’s crushing loss at the A’s, the Astros still control their own destiny, which is as much as you can ask in a season that’s had more pitfalls than any of their previous playoff teams of the past decade. All that matters now is a win Sunday will get Houston back into the playoffs after last year’s near-miss.
“We feel like we’ve been playing playoff baseball the last week,” Peña said. “Every game is a must-win, and we’ve got to show up tomorrow.”