Yankees star Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season Wednesday night against the Blue Jays, tying Roger Maris' American League record.

It took Maris until Oct. 1, the final game of the 1961 season, to hit his 61st, which broke Babe Ruth's single-season mark of 60 home runs set in 1927.

Judge did it Sept. 28, in Game No. 155 for New York. A day after the Yankees clinched the American League East title, Judge, batting leadoff as the designated hitter, took Toronto's Tim Mayza deep in the seventh inning with a runner on base. Judge -- who walked in his first at-bat, popped out in his second and grounded out in his third -- had gone seven games without a home run.

As he was going through the postgame handshake line, Kyle Wright received a request from Braves manager Brian Snitker.

"I want him to authenticate my own personal scorecard because I want him to sign it for me," Snitker said. "To think of where he was a year ago to now is so awesome."

Wright, 26, became the first 20-game winner in the majors this season, and Atlanta beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Saturday to stop a three-game losing streak.

Albert Pujols became the fourth member of the 700 home run club on Friday night, and he did so in emphatic fashion, launching two home runs in front of a packed Dodger Stadium crowd.

The first homer -- a 434-foot, two-run blast to left field -- came off Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney in the third inning. The second one was a three-run shot in the fourth off righty Phil Bickford. By that point the St. Louis Cardinals held a 5-0 lead, and Pujols had driven in all of his team's runs.

Only five players had hit 60 home runs in a single season in the history of the major leagues -- that is, until New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge joined that exclusive club with a solo homer against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Judge turned on a sinker from right-hander Wil Crowe leading off the final frame and drove it 430 feet into the left-field bleachers, sparking a five-run, ninth-inning rally for a 9-8 win.

He took a rare curtain call, forced by his teammates.

"I really didn't want to do it, especially, we're losing. It's a solo shot," he said.

The Houston Astros clinched their fifth American League West title in six years, getting a leadoff home run from Jose Altuve in a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night.

Headed to the postseason for the sixth straight season, Houston won for the eighth time in nine games and improved the AL's best record to 97-51. A major league-best 16-4 (.800) in their last 20 games, the Astros are now assured of a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Working closely with Framber Valdez, Astros catcher Martin Maldonado has enjoyed a front-row seat for the journey that has turned the left-hander into one of baseball's top pitchers in his fifth season.

"It is a lot of calm, a lot of confidence and a lot of maturity from him," Maldonado said. "He knows what he can do good. Listening more and taking pride in the work, less emotional on the mound. So I've seen a lot of stuff going into (his growth).``

Valdez set a major league single-season record with his 25th straight quality start, and Yordan Alvarez and Maldonado had four RBIs apiece in the Astros' 11-2 victory over the Athletics on Sunday.

Aaron Judge hit the 58th and 59th home runs of his magical season Sunday afternoon, leaving himself two short of tying the American League single-season record.

In his second at-bat, Judge took a 92 mph sinker from the Milwaukee Brewers' Jason Alexander that leaked over the plate in the second inning and deposited it 414 feet away in the right-field stands. Then, in the seventh inning, he hit a 443-foot homer to left field off Luis Perdomo.

Justin Verlander had just wrapped up another strong start and was in the dugout in the fifth inning when Yordan Alvarez launched his third monster home run of the night for the Astros.

"It's pretty cool when a major league player can make other major league players be in awe," Verlander said. "It's not something that happens all too often. And that was kind of one of those moments where everybody is just like: 'My goodness.' It's just incredible what he's able to do."

Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Athletics on Friday night. 

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 698th career home run Friday night in a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

With one out in the sixth inning, Pujols, 42, swung at the first pitch from reliever Raynel Espinal, an 84 mph slider, and launched a 427-foot shot out to left field. The crowd was already on its feet in anticipation, and Pujols rounded the bases to a tremendous cheer.

The Tampa Bay Rays started an unprecedented nine Latin American players in their lineup Thursday on Roberto Clemente Day, going on to rout the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0.

Clemente, the late Hall of Fame outfielder from Puerto Rico, was a two-time World Series winner and National League MVP who played 18 seasons with Pittsburgh. The Rays' nine starters are from five countries: Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.