Verlander, Altuve, Astros wrap up sweep, rout Rangers 12-2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Justin Verlander struck out 11 to win his fifth straight start since getting traded to Houston, major league batting leader Jose Altuve reached 200 hits for the fourth season in a row, and the AL West champion Astros completed a dominating three-game sweep by routing the Texas Rangers 12-2 on Wednesday.

Carlos Correa hit two home runs and George Springer had a grand slam as Houston (98-60) outscored Texas 37-7 in the series. The Astros are trying to catch Cleveland for the best record in the American League _ the Central champion Indians began the day at 98-59.

Correa went deep in consecutive innings, hitting a solo shot in the fifth and a two-run homer soon after Springer’s slam in a seven-run sixth. Correa had four hits and drove in four runs.

The Rangers (76-82), who had won the AL West the past two seasons, lost their sixth straight game.

Verlander (15-8) matched his season high for strikeouts while allowing two runs in six innings. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in his five starts since being traded from Detroit to Houston on Aug. 31.

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