PHOENIX, Arizona — Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel became the American League's first 20-game winner and the Astros hit four home runs and stayed alive in AL West race with a 21-5 trouncing of the Arizona Diamondbacks in an Inter-League game at Chase Field Friday. Right fielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, center fielder Colby Rasmus and third baseman Luis Valbuena homered for the Astros (85-75), who set a franchise record for runs in a nine-inning game. The Astros are two games behind division-leader Texas (87-73) with two games to play after the Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Houston is one game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels (84-76) and two ahead of the Minnesota Twins (83-77) for the second AL wild card berth. Keuchel, a top AL Cy Young contender, gave up two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked two. His 2.48 ERA is second in the league, and he leads the league with 232 innings and a 1.02 WHIP. Correa had three hits and was a double short of the cycle. He scored four runs as the Astros scored in every inning but the fifth and the ninth. Rasmus had two hits and three RBIs and Valbuena had two doubles to go with his homer and two RBIs. American League Angels 2, Rangers 1: Mike Trout scored the winning run after leading off the ninth with a triple, keeping the Los Angeles Angels' playoff hopes alive by beating the Texas Rangers. The Angels (84-76) were one game behind Houston starting the day in the race for the second wild-card spot. Minnesota also began the day tied with Los Angeles. The loss kept the Rangers (87-73) from celebrating an American League West title before a sellout crowd of 47,219. Texas, already assured of a spot in the post-season, came into the game needing one win or a Houston loss to clinch the division. Royals 3, Twins 1: A two-run rally in the eighth inning lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. The loss is a potentially crippling blow for the Twins' post-season hopes; Minnesota began the clash one-game behind the Houston Astros for the second wild card spot in the American League. Royals right-hander Chris Young allowed just four hits and one run while he struck out five and walked two through 6-1/3 innings. Blue Jays 8, Rays 4: The Toronto Blue Jays rallied from a 4-1 deficit to score four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh and pull away for an 8-4 win against Tampa Bay. Indians 8, Red Sox 2: Carlos Santana had two hits and three RBIs while Josh Tomlin pitched into the seventh inning as the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox. Santana's three-run double was the big blow in a four-run third inning. Tomlin had only one hiccup in the 6-1/3 innings, a two-run home run by designated hitter David Ortiz in the fourth inning. He gave up five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. In other gmaes it was: White Sox 2, Tigers 1; Athletics 4, Mariners 2; Yankees vs. Orioles (postponed). National League Cubs 6, Brewers 1: Jake Arrieta threw six shutout innings while Anthony Rizzo drove in three runs as the Cubs cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Arrieta (22-6) held the Brewers to just two hits while striking out seven in a final tune-up before he takes the mound against Pittsburgh next Wednesday in the NL wild card game. Rizzo hit his 31st home run of the season and added a two-run single in the fifth for Chicago, who also got two hits from second baseman Starlin Castro and shortstop Addison Russell. Braves 4, Cardinals 0: Julio Teheran allowed five hits over six scoreless innings in his last start of the year as the Braves blanked the National League Central champion St. Louis Cardinals. Rookie second baseman Daniel Castro homered off Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia and finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Pirates 6, Reds 4 (12 innings): Starling Marte's two-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-4 victory over Cincinnati, extending the Reds' losing streak to 13 games. It was the left fielder's 19th home run of the season and third career walk-off shot. He also hit a game-ending homer on Aug. 22 against the San Francisco Giants. In other games it was: Dodgers 6, Padres 2; Rockies 9, Giants 3; Marlins vs. Phillies and Nationals vs. Mets (postponed). — Agencies
