Red Sox clinch American League East

2nd straight division title for Boston

The Boston Red Sox have won the American League East for a second consecutive season, clinching the division on Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros at Fenway Park.

Mookie Betts was 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs scored in Saturday’s clincher, backing six strong innings by Drew Pomeranz, who struck out three and allowed one run for the win.

Boston (93-68) has been vying for AL East supremacy with the playoff-bound New York Yankees (91-70) all season long, and now lead the division by an insurmountable two games with one left to play.

An eight-game winning streak beginning July 31 vaulted the Red Sox into first place for good, and Boston’s 36-19 record since then is second in the American League during that time, trailing only the almost-never-lose Cleveland Indians.

The offense for Boston has found its legs during the stretch run, averaging 5.24 runs per game since the beginning of August, after 4.66 runs per game during the first four months of the season.

Not so coincidentally, 20-year-old third baseman Rafael Devers made his major league debut on July 25, and has solidified the hot corner for Boston, hitting .284/.339/.482 with 10 home runs in 57 games. Red Sox third basemen not named Devers in 2017 are hitting .228/.279/.321 with seven home runs in 421 plate appearances.

Run prevention has been the name of the game for Boston this season, ranking second in the American League to Cleveland in runs allowed. The Red Sox are led at the top by Chris Sale, who struck out 308 batters in his first season in Boston, going 17-9 with a 2.90 ERA.

Clinching the division on Saturday allows the Red Sox the flexibility to skip Sale on Sunday, as manager John Farrell told reporters before Saturday’s game, which keeps Boston’s ace in line to start in Game 1 of the ALDS.

The Red Sox will open the American League Division Series on the road on Thursday, Oct. 5, playing the Astros, against whom they end their regular season against at Fenway Park this weekend.