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Astros clinch 1st ever AL West title

Thomas B. Shea / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Houston, we have a division title.

Behind another masterful start from newly acquired Justin Verlander, the Astros sunk the Seattle Mariners, 7-1, Sunday at Minute Maid Park to clinch their first-ever American League West championship, and their first division title since winning the National League Central in 2001.

"Number one priority is to win the division, and we set out that goal right away from the beginning of spring training. We did that," Astros' manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, from the suds-soaked clubhouse. "You need 11 wins in October to make it even more special. The fact that we could clinch it at home, in front of our home fans - really special feeling for a really special group of guys."

That group of guys slugged four homers in Sunday's series finale - Derek Fisher, Marwin Gonzalez, George Springer, and Carlos Correa each went deep - to provide ample support for Verlander, who allowed just one run, while striking out 10 over seven sublime innings in his Minute Maid Park debut. In three starts with the Astros, Verlander boasts a 0.86 ERA.

"Would you expect anything less? I mean, the story is almost too good to be true," Hinch said of Verlander. "We trade(d) for him for this exact reason."

The Astros, alone atop the division since April 14, are now the first team in history to win three different divisions, having earned the National League West title in both 1980 and 1986 before being bumped to the NL Central in 1994. Nearly two decades after that, in 2013, with the commissioner's office keen to have an equal number of teams in each league and more geographically sensible divisions, the Astros joined the AL West.

With 13 games left on their regular-season schedule, the Astros, 91-58, have to go 11-2 to tie the franchise record for wins set in 1998, when the club - led by Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Moises Alou, and bolstered by the late-season addition of Randy Johnson - finished 102-60 and won the NL Central by 12 1/2 games. That year, despite a dominant regular season, the Astros were dispatched in the NLDS in four games by the San Diego Padres.

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