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Baseball-Astros win, can clinch playoff spot on Sunday

Oct 3 (The Sports Xchange) - Collin McHugh threw seven strong innings to help lead the Houston Astros to a 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday to keep the Astros' division title hopes alive. Jose Altuve doubled, homered and scored twice for the Astros, who remain one game behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West with only Sunday's games remaining. Houston also stayed a game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the AL's second wild card spot. McHugh (19-7) held the Diamondbacks to one run on six hits over seven innings while striking out five. "It's a one-game series tomorrow," said McHugh. "That's how we've been looking at it and it's no different tomorrow." With their sixth win in seven games, the Astros remain one game behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. "We showed up and took care of our business which is all you can ask for in game 161," said Astros manager A.J. Hinch. "We needed the win and we put a lot of pressure on the teams around us. We've won a lot of games and game 162's going to settle a lot." McHugh moved into second place in the AL for wins behind teammate and 20-game winner Dallas Keuchel. "I didn't have my great stuff tonight, I didn't have great command but (catcher) Jason (Castro) did a good job of guiding me through some spots," McHugh said. "I'm a big, slow curveball guy but with the thin air and no humidity the ball doesn't always spin like you want." Colby Rasmus homered twice for the Astros. "This is a great place to hit," Rasmus said. "I was excited to come here. It's always been a fun place to hit and we're taking advantage of it." Paul Goldschmidt homered for the Diamondbacks. "We had a few chances but it seemed every time we started something they had a big inning and kept us out there on defense," said Arizona manager Chip Hale. "(McHugh) kept us off balance." (Compiled by Greg Stutchbury)