Alvarez has 3 HRs, Astros down A's to clinch playoff berth September 16 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink HOUSTON (AP) Ace Justin Verlander had just wrapped up another strong start and Adrian Gonzalez Jersey was in the dugout in the fifth inning when Yordan Alvarez launched his third monster home run of the night for the Houston Astros.The cameras panned to Verlander, eyes wide as he admired his teammate's handiwork.Its pretty cool when a major league player can make other major league players be in awe," Verlander said. Its not something that happens all too often. And that was kind of one of those moments where everybody is just like: My goodne s.' It's just incredible what hes able to do."Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Verlander threw five hitle s innings in his return from the injured list and the Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.The Astros (95-50) won their sixth straight game to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as the first two teams to secure playoff spots, reaching their sixth straight postseason. There was no big celebration for this team with much bigger goals, but the Astros did share a quiet toast in the clubhouse postgame. You've got to keep in perspective ... how hard it is to get to the playoffs and to stay on top like this for a while," Verlander said Mookie Wilson Jersey . Its not easy. So Im glad we were able to take a moment." Alvarez, tied for second in the AL with a career-high 36 home runs, had solo shots off Adrin Martnez He capped his big night with a single in the seventh to tie his career high with four hits.Hitting one home run feels great, imagine hitting three," Alvarez said in Spanish through a translator. Just a very special night." It is his second three-homer game and first since Aug. 10, 2019, a season when he won AL Rookie of the Year. There have been only 15 three-homer games in Houston history and Alvarez joined Glenn Davis and Jeff Bagwell as the only Astros to have more than one. Alvarez's homers totaled 1,329 feet 434, 431 and 464. He joined Nelson Cruz on July 25, 2019, as the only players with three 400-plus foot homers in a game since Statcast started tracking in 2015.Yordan was unbelievable," manager Dusty Baker said. Those balls he hit, I dont know what the combined feet were, but boy thats a lot of mileage."Verlander (17-3) after injuring a calf on Aug. 28. He walked one and struck out nine to extend his season-long winning streak to nine games and lower his MLB-leading ERA to 1.78. His performance moved him past Max Scherzer (3,173) for Michael Conforto Jersey 13th on the career strikeout list with 3,176 in 17 seasons. Manager Dusty Baker said Verlander would be on a pitch-count but wouldnt reveal what his limit was. He was lifted without giving up a hit after throwing 79 pitches. Verlander plunked Ramon Laureano with one out in the second. He didnt allow another baserunner until walking Seth Brown with two outs in the fourth. He then sat down the next four batters he faced to end his night. Phil Maton took over for the sixth and Nick Allen singled on his first pitch to break up the no-hit bid. There were two outs in the first when to make it 1-0. Alvarezs second homer came with two outs in the third to extend the lead to 2-0. Jeremy Pea hit his 18th homer to left field with one out in the fifth. The Astros went back-to-back when Alvarez sent the next pitch from Martinez into center field to extend the lead to 4-0 and send Houstons dugout and the crowd into a frenzy. Martnez (4-5) pitched five innings, walking three and the only hits he allowed Robinson Cano Jersey were the four homers, which were a career-high.You take Alvarez out of the lineup and the line's a lot different," Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. Yordan is a guy that I referred to before the season started as a po sible MVP candidate. And and he showed why tonight."The Athletics, who have baseball's worst record at 52-93, managed just three singles and tied a season high by striking out 16 times. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: LHP Sam Moll was placed on the 15-day IL with a strained left shoulder and LHP Jared Koenig was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Astros: RHP Seth Martinez was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to make room for Verlander. ... RHP Josh James was recalled from his rehabilitation a signment because of forearm discomfort.UP NEXTRHP Jos Urquidy (13-6, 3.75 ERA) opposes LHP Cole Irvin (8-11, 3.73) on Saturday night. ___More AP MLB Jay Bruce Jersey : https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports in this topic American League Major League Baseball Yordan Alvarez Houston Astros Josh James Phil Maton Cole Irvin Seth Brown Ramn Laureano Justin Verlander Yordan Alvarez Oakland Athletics Houston Astros share Ronaldo looks to shine like Mbapp and Me si at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Lionel Me si and Kylian Mbapp so far at the World Cup 23 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's Gary Carter Jersey two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in the Senators' 5-2 win 59 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 59 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ducks bring losing streak into game against the Hurricanes The Anaheim Ducks aim to end their six-game losing streak when they play the Carolina Hurricanes 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Blackhawks face the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils The Chicago Blackhawks face the top-ranked team in the Metropolitan Division, the New Jersey Devils 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS