Bubbly Astros clinch AL West, bye with Texas loss
PHOENIX – On Saturday night, the Houston Astros celebrated clinching a playoff spot with T-shirts and a subdued toast.
One day later, after rallying to claim a bigger prize in their crosshairs, the Astros held an all-out locker room rager of cigars and champagne-and-beer showers that left puddles on the plastic-covered floors.
A season of injuries and inconsistencies ended with another division title. Even for a team that won the World Series last fall, that’s worth celebrating.
The Astros, with help from the Seattle Mariners, rallied to clinch their third straight AL West title, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1 on Sunday behind Christian Javier’s six strong innings and Alex Bregman‘s two-run homer.
“A lot of people wanted to know what it’s like if the Astros didn’t win the division,” Bregman said before popping the cork on a champagne bottle. “I guess we’ll never know.”
I guess we’ll never know ?♂️ pic.twitter.com/86jCyYO8d8
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 1, 2023
The Astros and the Texas Rangers finished with identical 90-72 records after the Rangers lost 1-0 to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, but the Astros held the tiebreaker to win the division for the sixth time in seven years.
Instead of days of rest and home-field advantage, the Rangers will now visit the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series on Tuesday.
“Today’s loss hurts. Definitely a game that we wanted for our home fans, but we’re gonna have to take a different route now to get to our ultimate goal,” Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said.
Including off days, the Rangers spent 159 days in first place this season. Yet it’s the Astros that now have a first-round bye in the playoffs and will be raising a division championship banner.
“At the end of the day, we kept it within striking distance and put it together at the end, which makes it very special,” Houston general manager Dana Brown said.
Said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy: “There’s always going to be disappointment because this game (vs. the Mariners) was big. It was huge. And so I’m sure there’s disappointment in there. Once we get on the plane realizing you’re in postseason, and like I said, you get your head back to where it needs to be.”
The game wasn’t the only loss for the Rangers on Sunday. Corey Seager lost the AL batting title on the final day to Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz, who didn’t play in the Rays’ season finale. Seager went 0 for 4 and finished at .327; he started the day leading Díaz .3298 to .3295.
Texas went 4-2 against Tampa Bay in the regular season. The Rangers went 1-2 during a three-game series at Tampa Bay in mid-June before sweeping a three-game series at home just after the All-Star break.
Arizona will play at the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card Series that starts Tuesday.
The Astros did their part by jumping on Kyle Nelson (7-4) from the first pitch. Houston had a 5-0 lead after two innings and Javier (10-5) held an Arizona lineup mostly devoid of everyday players to three hits.
Kyle Tucker had a sacrifice fly to finish with an American League-leading 112 RBIs. Jose Abreu added a two-run homer in the seventh.
The Astros’ fourth straight victory to close the regular season gave manager Dusty Baker his 13th season with at least 90 wins.
“I didn’t want to end on 89 and we got to 90,” Baker said in between champagne dousings.
The Diamondbacks backed into the playoffs, scoring two runs in three games against the Astros to close the regular season on a four-game losing streak. Arizona finished 84-78 after going 74-88 last season and losing 110 games the year before.
“You definitely want to finish on a high note, but it’s whatever and you’ve got to throw it away,” Diamondbacks outfielder Alex Thomas said. “Now we’ve got October baseball to focus on.”
The Astros jumped on the Diamondbacks early, needing two pitches to take a 2-0 lead.
Jose Altuve opened with a single and Bregman followed with his 25th homer, a two-run shot to left. Houston scored another run on Arizona first baseman Emmanuel Rivera‘s throwing error and went up 4-0 on Jeremy Pena‘s run-scoring single.
Tucker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and made it 6-0 in the fifth with a triple and head’s up baserunning after Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar held the relay throw.
“Maybe we were a little flat, most of us were probably up a little late last night,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “For sure there was a little lull in focus and energy. I get that, but let’s push that aside.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is not expected to play against Mississippi State on Saturday, per sources, as the Longhorns staff is expected to sit him out in order for him to be fully healthy for the game against Oklahoma on Oct. 12.
A final decision on Ewers is expected later Saturday, per sources, but the decision is trending toward allowing him to use Texas’ week off following the Mississippi State game to get healthy. Ewers has been considered week-to-week since injuring his oblique against UTSA on Sept. 14.
Ewers finished the week at nearly 70%, as he practiced Tuesday, was limited Wednesday and ended up limited in practice Thursday to allow him to fully heal. Per sources, the Texas coaching staff wanted to give Ewers the extra rest to ensure he’d return at full strength.
The decision means that Texas will against start backup quarterback Arch Manning, who will make his first career start in an SEC game. Manning made his first start against Louisiana Monroe, completing 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards. He had two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Ewers’ oblique injury came in the wake of him displaying one of the season’s best performances at Michigan in Week 2, as he threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout Texas win in Ann Arbor.
Mississippi State enters the game on a three-game losing streak, which includes back-to-back blowout home losses to Toledo and Florida. The Bulldogs are trending toward finishing at the bottom of the SEC, as they have one of the country’s worst defenses. They are No. 111 nationally in total defense and No. 107 in scoring defense.
Mississippi State will also be without its starting quarterback, as starter Blake Shapen is out for the year after suffering a shoulder injury against Florida. Michael Van Buren, a true freshman, will make his first career start for the Bulldogs.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams is a “true game-time decision” for the No. 2 Bulldogs at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night, according to ESPN sources.
Williams has missed the previous two games with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, which he suffered against Clemson in the opener. He’ll be evaluated in pregame warmups and a decision will be made on his status.
Williams has been limited in practice this week, and it’s expected that if he does play it’ll be at less than 100 percent. He’s also unlikely to play a heavy snap count if he does play, as he’s working his way back.
Williams is a marauding defensive end who is the best player in Georgia’s front seven and is a high-end NFL prospect. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has him ranked No. 4 overall player for the 2025 NFL draft.
Williams started the season hot before injuring his ankle against Clemson, as he had two tackles for loss and three quarterback pressures in that game.
They will be an onus on Georgia’s defensive line, especially on the ends, to help slow Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia’s defensive line will benefit from the return of senior Warren Brinson, who is listed as probable after missing the past two games. Sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Hall is questionable for the SEC showdown.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who has been snakebit by injuries the past two years, is again expected to be a game-time decision against Arizona on Saturday night, sources told ESPN.
Rising has missed No. 10 Utah’s past two games after an injury to his throwing hand that he suffered against Baylor on Sept. 7. He missed all of last season after an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season.
Rising’s status will undergo the same evaluation process with the Utah staff as before the Oklahoma State game last week. He’ll throw the ball pregame, and his ability to deliver spin and velocity on the ball will determine whether he’ll play, per sources.
As Rising has struggled to recover and get back on the field, one factor that could weigh into the decision is the chance to get him back fully healthy in two weeks. Utah has a bye before they play at Arizona State on Oct. 11.
Rising has practiced this week but remained limited as the staff has attempted to rest his finger.
Freshman Isaac Wilson has started the past two weeks, leading the Utes to victories over Utah State in Logan and in Stillwater against the Cowboys.
Wilson has shown both moments of promise and interspersed those with moments that have illuminated his youth. He threw for 207 yards on 17-of-29 passing against Oklahoma State. He also threw two interceptions. He threw for three touchdowns and 239 yards against Utah State.
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