Slowly but surely, the stars of Houston\u2019s 2017 World Series-winning team have scattered about in the years since. <\/p>\n
George Springer is in Toronto now, Alex Bregman in Boston and Carlos Correa in Minnesota. Justin Verlander pitches for San Francisco. Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers Jr. are still with the Astros, but it feels like it\u2019s only a matter of time before Houston\u2019s dominance of the AL West comes to an end.<\/p>\n
The question is whether anyone else in the division has what it takes to force a changing of the guard.<\/p>\n
If it weren\u2019t for Oakland\u2019s division title in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Houston would have a streak of seven straight AL West championships. Only the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees have had runs that long since divisional play began. But last year, the Astros won just 88 games, their fewest in a full season since 2016. Only the mediocrity of the rest of the division kept them on top.<\/p>\n
This year, Houston is 32-27, which puts the Astros on pace to win 88 games again. Nonetheless, they trail first-place Seattle by just a half-game.<\/p>\n
The challengers all have their problems. The Athletics had an encouraging start but have lost 17 of their last 18. The Los Angeles Angels look headed to a 10th straight losing season. Texas won it all as a wild card two years ago but has been one of the worst offensive teams in baseball in 2025.<\/p>\n
That leaves Seattle. The Mariners have the major league home run leader<\/a> in Cal Raleigh \u2014 yes, he\u2019s ahead of both Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge with 23. Seattle also has Luis Castillo leading the pitching staff, but its team ERA is pretty middling at 3.86. Logan Gilbert missed all of May with an elbow issue.<\/p>\n The Mariners haven\u2019t won a division title since 2001. It\u2019s there for the taking right now, but are they up to the task?<\/p>\n Trivia time<\/p>\n There are six current major league franchises that have never won back-to-back division titles. Who are they?<\/p>\n Agony of defeat<\/p>\n Boston was swept three straight at Milwaukee, with the last two losses coming in walk-off fashion. Christian Yelich hit a 10th-inning grand slam<\/a> to beat the Red Sox on Tuesday night, and the following day Caleb Durbin ended it with a sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n Boston has lost a major league-high seven games in walk-off fashion \u2014 and those games account for over a fifth of their 32 defeats.<\/p>\n Line of the week<\/p>\n Junior Caminero went 4 for 5 with two homers, two doubles, five RBIs and four runs in Tampa Bay\u2019s 16-3 rout<\/a> of Houston on Saturday. Even after a loss Sunday, the Rays have won nine of their last 12 and are just a half-game behind Minnesota for the American League\u2019s final wild card.<\/p>\n Comeback of the week<\/p>\n Minnesota trailed Seattle 6-3 with two outs in the top of the ninth Friday night when Willi Castro hit a two-run homer off closer Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz. Then Byron Buxton singled, stole second and scored on a single by Trevor Larnach.<\/p>\n In the top of the 10th, the Twins scored six runs on their way to a 12-6 victory. Seattle had a win probability of 98.9% in the ninth, according to Baseball Savant<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mu\u00f1oz had not allowed an earned run all season. He blew another save against Minnesota on Sunday but ultimately got the win.<\/p>\n Trivia answer<\/p>\n The Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies have never won ANY division titles. The other four teams that have never gone back-to-back are:<\/p>\n \u2014 San Francisco Giants (NL West titles in 1971, 1987, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2012 and 2021)<\/p>\n \u2014 New York Mets (NL East titles in 1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 2006 and 2015)<\/p>\n \u2014 Chicago White Sox (AL West titles in 1983 and 1993, AL Central titles in 2000, 2005, 2008 and 2021)<\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Mariners (AL West titles in 1995, 1997 and 2001)<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n