Yastrzemski HR Clinches NL East for Braves

Atlanta Braves outfielder Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run home run in a four-run sixth inning Sunday, and the Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-2 to clinch the NL East title for the seventh time in nine years. Ozzie Albies tied the game with an RBI single before Yastrzemski went deep off Bryan King. The win completed a three-game sweep in Houston and sprayed the visitors' clubhouse with champagne and cigars.

Victor Mederos earned the win. Dylan Dodd closed the ninth for his second save of the season. Atlanta's late push turned a tight road series into a division stamp, the kind of September board Braves fans have come to expect in this window.

The night also handed the Boston Red Sox their playoff clinch an hour later, once Houston's loss became official. That is a separate champagne story. This one belongs to Yaz and the sixth-inning explosion that flipped a 1-0 deficit into a lead Atlanta never gave back.

Fantasy rooms that streamed Yastrzemski for the weekend just got the highlight-reel stamp. Soft note only: do not invent an October RBI lock from one swing. Do bank the three-run blast, the four-run frame, and the seventh division crown in nine years.

Houston had the early lead and the home crowd. Atlanta had the answer. The NL East is locked, and the Braves head into the final stretch already wearing the title.

Houston clinch board

Braves 4, Astros 2. Yaz three-run shot. Seventh East in nine.

Four-run sixth. Sweep complete. Atlanta owns the division.