Yuli Gurriel slugged a pair of home runs, including a first-inning grand slam as the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros clinched a post-season berth with an 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Astros secured their 12th post-season appearance in club history and shaved their magic number to six to win the American League West for a second consecutive season.
The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins in extra innings later Friday to stay within 3-1/2 games.
Houston (96-57) reached 96 victories for just the fifth time in franchise history - they finished 96-66 in 1986 before winning a club-record 102 games in 1998, 97 in 1999, and 101 last season.
Pitcher Gerrit Cole allowed three runs on six hits while recording 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk at Minute Maid Park.
It marked his eighth double-digit strikeout game of the season and bumped his season total to 272, to lead the American League from teammate Justin Verlander (269).
Gurriel recorded his second grand slam of the season when bringing home Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Marwin Gonzalez via a first-pitch sinker from Andrew Heaney.
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