<P> With Hurricane Harvey causing massive flooding throughout Houston and southeast Texas, the Astros' three - game series against the Texas Rangers for August 29--31, was relocated to Tropicana Field (home of the Tampa Bay Rays), in St. Petersburg, Florida . The Astros greatly improved against the Rangers in 2017, going 12--7 against them and winning the season series . </P> <P> At the August 31 waiver - trade deadline GM Jeff Luhnow acquired veteran starting pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to bolster the starting rotation . Verlander won each of his 5 regular season starts with the Astros, yielding only 4 runs over this stretch . He carried his success into the playoffs, posting a record of 4 - 1 in his 6 starts, and throwing a complete game shutout in Game 2 of the ALCS . Verlander was named the 2017 ALCS MVP . </P> <P> The Astros clinched their first division title as a member of the American League West division, and first division title overall since 2001 . They also became the first team in Major League history to win three different divisions: National League West in 1980 and 1986, National League Central from 1997--1999 and 2001, and American League West in 2017 . On September 29, the Astros won their 100th game of the season, the second time the Astros finished a season with over 100 wins, the first being in 1998 . They finished 101--61, with a 21 - game lead in the division, and faced the Red Sox in the first round of the AL playoffs . The Astros defeated the Red Sox three games to one, and advanced to the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees . The Astros won the ALCS four games to three, and advanced to the World Series to play against the Los Angeles Dodgers . The Astros defeated the Dodgers in the deciding seventh game of the World Series, winning the first championship in franchise history . </P> <P> The city of Houston celebrated the team's accomplishment with a parade on the afternoon of November 3, 2017 . Houston's Independent School District gave the students and teachers the day off to watch the parade . </P>

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