Yastrzemski hits a 3-run homer and the Braves clinch the NL East title with 4-2 win over the Astros

HOUSTON (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer during a four-run sixth inning and the Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East title for the seventh time in nine years with a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Ozzie Albies tied it at one with an RBI single before Yastrzemski’s homer to right off Bryan King (3-6).

After finishing 76-86 and missing the playoffs last season, Atlanta bounced back this year under first-year manager Walt Weiss. The Braves are 92-64 and have won at least 90 games for the fifth time in the last eight seasons.

The Astros’ playoff hopes took a hit after being swept by the Braves. Houston, which has lost seven of its last nine games, trails the Rangers by a game in the AL West, but the Astros own the tiebreaker. The Rangers lost 7-2 to Toronto on Sunday.

Jose Altuve had a home run in the fourth, Yainer Diaz hit a home run in the eighth, but the Astros left the bases loaded in the first and fifth innings.

Victor Mederos (5-1) entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth and struck out Altuve before inducing a groundout by Diaz to end the inning. Dylan Dodd pitched the ninth for his second save.

Braves starter Martín Pérez allowed one run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Houston starter Hunter Brown scattered three hits and struck out 10 over five scoreless innings.

Braves: RHP JR Ritchie (1-3, 5.03 ERA) starts Tuesday in the first game of a three-game series against the Reds at home.

Astros: RHP Cristian Javier (2-6, 5.31) starts Tuesday against the Mariners in the first game of a two-game series in Seattle.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes tries to make a throw to first base as Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. singled during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve runs up the line on his home run off Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Martin Perez during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. singles off Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Atlanta Braves' Mike Yastrzemski reacts after hitting a three-run home run off Houston Astros relief pitcher Bryan King during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

World leaders will begin formal discussions Wednesday at the United Nations climate change conference in Turkey, hoping to agree on concrete actions to curb global warming after a year of deadly floods, heat waves and other climate-related disasters.

But what can and will be accomplished at the Conference of the Parties, called COP31, remains to be seen. Past talks have been criticized for making promises that later fell flat.

While delegates at the 2023 conference in Dubai agreed to transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas — the leading contributor to climate change — subsequent conferences in Azerbaijan and Brazil ended with little agreement on reductions. Last year's Brazil conference produced a compromise agreement pledging additional money to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change.

This year's conference — Turkey is hosting and Australia is leading negotiations — officially kicked off Monday amid fears that the world is not moving quickly enough.

Scientists say global warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial levels of the early 1800s. Limiting temperature rise to that threshold was a goal set during the 2015 Paris Agreement and has been a focus of international negotiations.

The talks also come as the war in Iran has increased global prices of gasoline, oil and products made with them, such as fertilizers and pesticides. That has pushed governments to rethink energy policies and investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

“We don’t need more promises, we need plans,” said John Kerry, former U.S. secretary of state and former presidential climate envoy, though the U.S. itself, the world’s second-largest polluter after China, is noticeably absent for the second year in a row.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has targeted offshore wind projects and removed rules limiting power plant emissions.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - American Electric Power's John Amos coal-fired power plant in Winfield, W.Va., stands across the Kanawha River, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Activists participate in a demonstration about nuclear power at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, speaks during a session at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People walk through the venue at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)