Houston Astros finish historic regular season with 107 wins, No. 1 seed

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- With their 8-5 win over the Angels Sunday afternoon, the Astros finished their historic regular season 107-55, a franchise record for most wins in a season and the best record in baseball for the 2019 season.

Not only that, they clinched the No. 1 seed in the American League for the upcoming playoffs and the World Series, should they advance that far.

It is the third straight year the Astros won the AL West.

The Astros became the sixth team in MLB history to win 100+ games for three consecutive seasons. It's a remarkable statistic to think about when you remember where the Astros were at the beginning of the decade.

The 2019 regular season for the Astros has been one for the ages. Four players (Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel, George Springer, Alex Bregman) finished with 30+ home runs, with MVP candidate Bregman having 41.

Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander are both in contention to win the Cy Young Award.

Cole became the first pitcher in MLB history to have nine consecutive double-digit strikeout games.

Verlander became the 18th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 strikeouts. He also threw his third career no-hitter in early September.

The Astros even had a combined no-hitter at the beginning of August between Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini, Chris Devenski and Will Harris. Biagini and Sanchez had just been acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the time.

Zack Greinke was one of the top trade targets for many MLB teams, and the Astros once again pulled off a trade in the summer to bolster the pitching staff.

The Astros also set a franchise record for most runs scored in a game with 23 back in August against the Orioles.

The offseason acquisition of Michael Brantley proved to be a big one. Brantley had over 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in his first season with the Astros.

When you add all of this up with the sheer dominance, camera-staring and joy the Astros have playing as a unit, it made for a fantastic regular season.

The Astros will begin their quest for a second World Series Championship in three years against either the Oakland Athletics or Tampa Bay Rays.