Braves 4, Astros 2: Yastrzemski's Three-Run Homer Clinches the NL East

Pérez started it. Yastrzemski finished the division.

September 20, 2026 - Houston - Martín Pérez was a non-roster invitee who was designated for assignment on April 12. On Sunday he started the game that clinched a division. Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer in the sixth, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-2 at Daikin Park.

Roof closed. 73 degrees. First pitch 1:11 p.m. Attendance 36,612. The game lasted 2 hours, 46 minutes. Atlanta had six hits. Houston had eight.

It is Atlanta's seventh National League East title in nine years, and the MLB recap said the Braves and Dodgers lead all clubs with 24 division titles since 1969. The Braves are 92-64. They will be the NL's No. 3 seed as it stands, with a Wild Card Series against San Diego, Chicago, or Philadelphia.

"We've been fighting all year to get to this moment with this group of good guys and good coaches," Pérez said, per the MLB recap. "I mean, everything is good. And we're not done yet."

Ten strikeouts, then four runs off King

Hunter Brown was the other starter, and he was the better one for five innings. Five innings. Three hits. Zero runs. Two walks. Ten strikeouts. Ninety-eight pitches. Jose Altuve had given Houston a 1-0 lead with his 16th homer in the fourth, a fly to left off Pérez. That was the only run Brown handed to the bullpen.

Bryan King opened the sixth and did not record an out. Michael Harris II walked. Mauricio Dubón doubled. Ozzie Albies singled Harris home. Yastrzemski hit his 12th to right-center, Dubón and Albies scoring. 4-1. King: zero innings, three hits, four earned, one walk, one homer, 20 pitches, the blown save and the loss (3-6).

Yastrzemski homered three times on this 4-2 road trip, the MLB recap said. Sunday was the one that ended the race. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Albies had the tying single. Harris walked twice and scored. Ronald Acuña Jr. was 1-for-3 with a walk. Matt Olson went 0-for-4.

Mederos with the bases loaded

Pérez lasted 4 1/3. Six hits. One earned. Two walks. Two strikeouts. Seventy-nine pitches. He left with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth. Victor Mederos (5-1) struck out Altuve and got Yainer Diaz to ground out. Seven pitches. The inning ended 1-0 Houston instead of something worse.

The MLB recap said Mederos spent nearly the first three months at Triple-A and had 12 big-league appearances before this season. He has been a second-half piece. Sunday he inherited the mess that would have undone a clinch game.

AJ Smith-Shawver threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Ray Kerr allowed Diaz's 13th homer in the eighth. 4-2. Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth for his second save. Thirteen pitches. Three punchouts. Champagne.

Houston is 77-79. Yordan Alvarez had two hits. Diaz and Altuve each homered. Jeremy Peña was 1-for-5. Christian Walker went 0-for-3. Brown's 10-strikeout night became a no-decision because the sixth inning lasted four Atlanta runs and zero outs.

A club that was not supposed to be here

Manager Walt Weiss had spent the year reminding his players that the preseason did not like them. Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep, and Joey Wentz all went down in spring. Jurickson Profar was suspended before the season. Pérez posted a 3.04 ERA in 30 starts after the DFA. Tyler Mahle has a 1.28 ERA in eight starts since the Giants trade, the MLB recap said.

"Sometimes it's not best to be the favorite, because it comes with a lot of expectations," Harris said, per that recap. "We just kept our head down and kept working. Now, we're in the position we wanted to be."

Weiss, on the sweep: "You've got to get in [the postseason] and then you take your best shot. [During this three-game series sweep], I really felt like we took it to another level. I think we've got to keep our foot on the gas."

Atlanta has six regular-season games left and a division already in the bag. Sunday was the underdog starter, the bases-loaded escape, and Yastrzemski's 12th. That is a clinch.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Brown at 20 pitching FP, fifth on the slate, in a game Houston lost. Yastrzemski had 8 hitting FP. Atlanta had 9 team FP. Houston finished at minus-1.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*