Dallas Keuchel earned his 20th win of the season in the Astros' 21-5 thrashing of the Diamondbacks on Friday.
The left-hander gave up just two runs in six innings to finish his regular season 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA. Keuchel's Cy Young-caliber season has helped put the Astros one game ahead of the Angels for the final American League wild-card spot with two games remaining.
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The Astros hit the Diamondbacks early and often Friday. Houston batted around in the first inning before settling for three runs — which ended with Keuchel striking out with the bases loaded.
Carlos Correa went 3 for 4 with four runs scored, his 22nd home run — a rookie franchise record — and four RBIs. Colby Rasmus, Luis Valbuena and George Springer also jacked home runs.
The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, set a franchise record for runs allowed and finished the game with almost as many errors (four) as runs scored. That usually isn't a winning formula.
Star performers
American League
Ben Revere, Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin combined for eight hits, three runs scored, two home runs and four RBIs in the Blue Jays' 8-4 win against the Rays.
Albert Pujols and the Erick Aybar combined for four hits, a run and an RBI in a huge 2-1 win against the Rangers that kept the Halos one game behind the Astros for the final wild-card spot.
National League
Pirates outfielder Starling Marte hit a walkoff two-run home run in the 12th inning to beat the Reds 6-4. The Bucs moved one game away from clinching home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card Game.
Jake Arrieta improved to 22-6 after pitching six scoreless innings in a 6-1 win against the Brewers. The Cubs' ace lowered his ERA to 1.77 for the season and 0.41 since Aug. 1. First baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, a home run, three RBIs and a walk.
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Plays of the Day
Kevin Pillar, just wow:
White Sox outfielder J.B. Shuck makes a diving play near the warning track:
White Sox starter Chris Sale strikes out Tigers catcher James McCann, Sale's franchise-record 270th strikeout. He finished the season with 274:
A look ahead
Saturday's key games (all times Eastern):
Angels (84-76) at Rangers (87-73), 1:05 p.m.: The Angels are still in a must-win situation. They may need to score some runs to win, however, as Hector Santiago (9-9, 3.52 ERA) will face off against Colby Lewis (17-9, 4.53 ERA). Santiago is 2-2 with a 6.32 ERA in his last seven starts.
Astros (85-75) at Diamondbacks (78-81), 8:10 p.m.: The Astros were helped by a big win against the Diamondbacks on Friday. Collin McHugh (18-7, 3.98), one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball, will get an opportunity to move them one step closer to a playoff berth.
Reactions
"If that did not clinch (Arrieta's Cy Young) award, I don't know what would. That had to be the clincher," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Arrieta's performance Friday.