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Here's what needs to happen for the Astros to win the American League West

Houston clinched a spot in the postseason Saturday with a win over Arizona. They could still win the division.
Credit: AP
Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier throws during the first inning against Kansas City (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel).

PHOENIX — The Houston Astros clinched a spot in the postseason with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday.  

The win gets the Astros in as the wild-card, but with one game to go, Houston could still win the American League West.

Texas won, too, Saturday knocking Seattle out of the playoffs and with that win, Texas stayed one game ahead of the Astros. Seattle dropped to three games back.

So here's what it comes down to for the American League West -- If Texas wins their season finale against Seattle, they win the division. Texas would also win the division if the Astros lose to Arizona on Sunday. But if the Astros win and the Rangers lose, the teams will have identical records and the Astros would win the division. That's because Houston won the head-to-head series against Texas, which is the tiebreaker.

If Houston does win the division, they'll earn a bye. If they don't, they'll play in the wild-card round, either against Minnesota or Tampa Bay.  

Cristian Javier gets the ball for the Astros Sunday. He'll go up against Kyle Nelson of the Diamondbacks.

As for the rest of the American League, Toronto is in as one of the wild-cards and they'll face the Tampa Bay Rays, another wild-card.  The winner moves on to take on the Orioles, who had the best record in Major League Baseball.

In the National League, the field is set with the Arizona Diamondbacks in, along with Milwaukee, Miami, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta.

You can see the full playoff picture here.

   

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