The Houston Astros are keeping things interesting to the very end, as they head into the final game of the season tied with the Rangers.
The Houston Astros close out the regular season Sunday afternoon against the Athletics, and it's as simple as it gets: win, and the division is theirs.
The tiebreaker belongs to Houston, since they won the head-to-head season series against the Texas Rangers, 9-4, in 13 meetings this year.
Houston Astros @ Athletics
2:05 PM CT | Sutter Health Park
Houston enters at 80-81, tied with the Rangers atop the AL West and holding the tiebreaker. The Athletics sit at 64-97, one of the worst records in baseball. The Astros may have blown the Athletics out of the water Saturday night, winning 13-2, but they lost the night before, so nothing is a guarantee with this Astros team. But if the bats are even half as hot as they were Saturday, the division belongs to the Astros.
Here is a look at the pitching matchup:
For the Astros:
Peter Lambert takes the mound for Houston. He's sitting at 8-10 with a 3.87 ERA and 153 strikeouts, and he's been one of the most reliable arms on this staff all season. There's no bigger stage for him to prove it than today.
For the Athletics:
Seth Johnson takes the mound for the A's, but not as a traditional starter. Johnson's been working exclusively in relief all season, and he's being used as an opener here, expected to hand things off to Brady Basso for bulk relief once he exits. He's sitting at 1-0 with a 6.19 ERA on the year.
Astros lineup:
- Jeremy Peña (R) SS
- Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
- Isaac Paredes (R) 3B
- Jose Altuve (R) 2B
- Yainer Diaz (R) C
- Christian Walker (R) 1B
- Lucas Spence (L) CF
- Cam Smith (R) RF
- Taylor Trammell (L) LF
Athletics lineup:
- Henry Bolte (R) CF
- Lawrence Butler (L) RF
- Shea Langeliers (R) DH
- Zack Gelof (R) 3B
- Jeff McNeil (L) 1B
- Donovan Walton (L) 2B
- Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (R) SS
- Carlos Cortes (L) LF
- Brian Serven (R) C
No matter the outcome of Sunday afternoon's game, the Athletics are done for the season, but that doesn't mean they don't still want to win. It's easy to walk in with your head held high after a win like Saturday, but the Astros absolutely cannot get caught sleeping on this team, despite them having one of the worst seasons in baseball. If the Astros want the division, they still need to show up and give it their all.
