Martin Maldonado exudes confidence following Astros' dramatic AL West coronation - "We didn’t expect anything less than the division"
The Houston Astros played their part on a dramatic final day of the regular season.
The defending World Series champions clinched the sixth American League West title in seven seasons, taking advantage of the Texas Rangers' defeat against the Seattle Mariners.
While the Astros were in a comfortable spot in their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they had one eye on the scoreline at T-Mobile Park, hosting the series finale between the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
“I think we watched the scoreboard more than we watched our game,” Astros catcher Martin Maldonado said.
It was all high fives among the Astros players during the eighth inning of their game when they learned the final score from Seattle.
The Rangers ended their season with a shutout loss against the Mariners, conceding the division to Houston.
“I remember somebody saying that if they lose the division, it’ll be because they gave it away,” veteran catcher Martin Maldonado said. “You know what? This is our division.”
The Astros clinched their postseason berth after an 8-1 win against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Their celebration was muted as they knew making the postseason was the least the fanbase expected from them.
However, the scenes were quite different a day later when they clinched the division after the Rangers' 1-0 defeat to the Mariners.
“That’s our goal and that’s why we didn’t celebrate yesterday. We didn’t expect (anything) less than the division championship,” Maldonado said on Sunday between puffs of a cigar.
Astros seek World Series defense after toppling Rangers for AL West title
Although the defending world champions clinched the division holding the tiebreaker over Rangers, teams will be wary of facing the experienced Astros lineup in the postseason.
Astros have racked up the most postseason games in the MLB since 2015. Fans will not be concerned by the manner they got the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs.
"I think we have a phenomenal lineup and pitching staff," Tucker said. "It wasn’t really how we wanted to do it, but we came back and won it. That’s all that matters.”