Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run homer and Houston hit four more Saturday, an 13-2 flattening of Oakland that leaves the Astros a division title away from wrapping the AL West with games to spare. Three hundred miles south the Phillies were doing the opposite of that: Aaron Nola got hammered on two days' rest, the bullpen came apart behind him, and a 12-1 loss to Tampa Bay pushed Philadelphia into a Wild Card finale it didn't need to schedule. Same Saturday night, same sport, one team deciding October and one team still begging for the invitation.

Steph Curry's extension is the more interesting document. Golden State could have paid him $136 million. He signed for $20 million less, the second time in his career he's taken a discount to keep the roster flexible, and the Warriors will spend that gap on somebody else. Compare that to Buddy Hield, who just got traded to Chicago for Rob Dillingham and cash, a straight change-of-scenery deal with no discount involved on either side. Curry's number wasn't set by a negotiation. It was set by what he decided the team was worth more than his own market rate, which is a sentence you can write about maybe four players alive.