JEFF BAGWELL

Yordan Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Justin Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Houston Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Roger Clemens has had some big baseball moments in the city of Detroit.

When Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves meet Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros, it will be a World Series that's been six decades in the making.

Rookie Luis García showed the poise of an October ace, MVP Yordan Alvarez stayed hot at the plate and the Houston Astros earned yet another trip to the World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.

Dodgers ace Max Scherzer got the last three outs in the thrilling Game 5 of the NL Divsion Series and is now lined up to throw the first pitch for Los Angeles in the NL Championship Series.

Gary Sánchez and Rougned Odor both struck out with two runners on to blunt a ninth-inning rally and the New York Yankees’ lead atop the AL wild-card race got even tighter with a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Mitch Moreland homered twice, Chris Bassitt posted his AL-leading 12th win and the Oakland Athletics routed the Cleveland Indians 17-0 for their seventh straight victory.