PHOENIX — The Astros are inevitable, a team immune to improbability amid a dynastic run that appears almost impossible to interrupt. Rancor, rivals and regression have tried to halt them to no avail, allowing the Astros to maintain more continuity than any American League club can fathom.

Yet that kind of consistency is not as effortless as this club makes it appear. No season demonstrated it more than this one. The Astros spent all but 23 of their first 186 days out of first place, displaying cracks in what had long been a rock-solid foundation and inviting wonder if fallibility had finally arrived.

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They refused to win at home, harness any consistency or handle some of the sport’s worst teams, threatening their place atop a division they’ve dominated. Five days ago, with four regular-season games remaining, FanGraphs gave Houston just 5.8 percent odds to win it and secure a first-round bye.

“In a game as tough as baseball where it’s just built on failure, you have to be able to move onto the next pitch, turn the page and bounce back, be resilient,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “No matter what, we’ve had our ups and downs this year, but it’s a damn resilient team.”

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This confounding regular season could not conclude any other way. Houston won the American League West for the third consecutive season and sixth time in seven years. None of the others are more improbable. None will be more cherished, either.

“It’s been up and down with a lot of the guys, but coming in these last two weeks, we were just focused,” said Mauricio Dubón, one of so many saviors that kept this team afloat. “You work hard. It’s a long year. It’s a grind. Coming down to game 162 and clinching makes it more special.”

Houston’s 8-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday and the Texas Rangers’ 1-0 loss against the Seattle Mariners restored a regular-season balance of power that shifted throughout the season. The Rangers spent 159 days in first place, produced six All-Stars, possessed one of the sport’s most powerful offenses and paid an absurd amount of money to overtake their intrastate rivals. On Sunday, they couldn’t score a run with the division hanging in the balance.

“I remember somebody saying that if they lose the division, it’ll be because they gave it away,” veteran catcher Martín Maldonado said. “You know what? This is our division.”

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A seven-day, six-game and two-city trip sealed it, giving the Astros the second overall seed and a bye through the wild-card round. Houston had 11.1 percent odds to capture a division title when it began, the byproduct of an otherwise brutal September. Seven losses against the sport’s two worst teams turned this month into a stomach-churning collection of close calls and curious decision-making. Other franchises confront this routinely.

For so long, the Astros avoided it. Past teams of their golden era have authored greater regular seasons. This edition suffered a 16-win dropoff from the last one, despite many of the same faces returning. Most seasons, Houston players report to spring training predestined for the playoffs — and certainly before September even begins. This group appeared incapable of something so simple. No club before it prompted more frustration or similarly flummoxed a fanbase spoiled by seven years of sustained success.

“I remember on the plane we talked about at least taking two out of three in Seattle,” Maldonado said. “ … We had (a goal) set to win two out of three. And then as soon as (the Rangers) lost the first two games, we knew we had a chance.”

Chances create opportunity. Six games in seven days presented the biggest one of an otherwise rocky regular season. They spent so much of September searching for answers, only to discover them when it mattered most.

“We knew we still had a shot,” first-year general manager Dana Brown said. “We just knew we had to play a lot of good baseball. It came down to some good starts on this road trip.

“They’re used to winning and they maintain the same heartbeat and maintain the stomach for this. Even though it was getting difficult for myself, these guys maintained it. To see them pull it out like this is really special,” he continued.

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Houston’s pitching staff allowed 12 runs during this six-game road trip. Half of them arrived in the only loss. Ace Justin Verlander turned in two superb starts, including an eight-inning masterpiece during their pivotal series-opening win in Seattle.

Verlander fired five more scoreless frames during Saturday’s 1-0 win. The victory clinched a playoff spot, even if nothing afterward suggested it. Playoff berths are treated as birthrights for this franchise. A sedate champagne toast sufficed to commemorate it.

Texas took another approach. The team partied after clinching a postseason berth of its own on Saturday, soaking the visiting clubhouse at T-Mobile Park with another game still to play and a division title still unsecured.

“That’s our goal and that’s why we didn’t celebrate yesterday. We didn’t expect (anything) less than the division championship,” Maldonado said on Sunday between puffs of a cigar.

To secure it, Houston required help from its most hated rival. Wins by both Houston and Texas on Saturday night eliminated the Mariners from playoff contention. Seattle still started All-Star George Kirby and played its everyday lineup for six innings in a game against the Rangers that carried no meaning for them.

“I think we watched the scoreboard more than we watched our game,” Maldonado said.

Really, there was little need. Arizona started something akin to a split-squad spring training lineup. Tommy Pham, Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno did not play. Nor did presumptive Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll.

The Diamondbacks opted for a bullpen game behind 27-year-old southpaw Kyle Nelson, a veteran of 103 major-league innings and two big-league starts. Arizona activated its bullpen before Nelson threw his first pitch. Jose Altuve struck it into left field for a single. Bregman sent the next one 393 feet into the left field seats, just his 15th extra-base hit all season against a left-handed pitcher. Walking Yordan Alvarez ended Nelson’s start after four batters.

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Fill-in first baseman Emmanuel Rivera then threw away Michael Brantley’s tailor-made, inning-ending double play ball, allowing two more runs and affording the Astros an advantage Arizona’s lineup could not close.

The margin grew, but attention still seemed diverted toward a ribbon scoreboard in right field featuring out-of-town scores. Houston had an eight-run advantage when Seattle’s 1-0 win went final. Handshakes, high fives and hugs began inside the first-base dugout when the scoreboard displayed it.

“We weren’t satisfied, weren’t happy with what we did yesterday just because we clinched,” outfielder Chas McCormick said. “Now we got our goal.”

Attaining it is massive. Five days off will do wonders for Houston’s overworked bullpen. Verlander would not have been available to pitch until Game 3 of a potential Wild Card series. Now, he is the overwhelming favorite to start Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday against either the Minnesota Twins or Toronto Blue Jays at Minute Maid Park.

Most teams would cherish home-field advantage, but this one may rue it. Houston finished the regular season 39-42 at home. That alone should crater a season. Somehow, this group did not allow it, authoring a conclusion that — all season — felt foregone.

“It wasn’t ideal how we did it, but we came back and won it,” outfielder Kyle Tucker said. “That’s all that matters.”

(Top photo of Dusty Baker: Chris Coduto/ Getty Images)