Justin Verlander highlights Astros aspirations of clinching division after securing postseason spot - "Celebrations were a bit muted"

Justin Verlander reacted after helping the Astros to a solitary run shutout win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. The Astros clinched a playoff spot as a result and will now look to defend their World Series title.

Verlander had a five innings on the night. The veteran starter gave away just two hits and struck out five. However, he gave a season-high three walks since getting traded from the New York Mets, but his scoreless effort was his third in 11 starts for the Astros this season.

Following Verlander's performance and Jose Abreu's RBI double, the Astros secured e a playoff spot and will now look to clinch the AL West for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Explaining the Astros' muted celebrations, Verlander said:

"Obviously very excited, it has been a tough season. Plenty of guys have been injured. It hasn't been one of those good seasons where anything seemed to go easy. So it was the ability to fight the adversity and make it to the playoffs.

"It means a lot and everyone's very excited, but there's an opportunity to win one more and win the division. So the celebrations were a bit muted. We're keeping the eye on the prize."

Astros require the Texas Rangers to lose, while a win against Arizona will tie both teams. The Astros are ahead 9-4 on head-to-head.

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Justin Verlander ends another strong regular season for Astros

Even at 40 years of age and after a long career in the MLB, Justin Verlander had a strong individual season.

The 3x Cy Young winner ends with a 3.22 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. He has a 144:45 strikeouts to walk ratio on 162 innings this season. The Astros will need his services during the postseason run as they seek to become back-to-back winners.