.jpg)
1 hour ago
2
The Houston Astros entered the weekend tied with the Seattle Mariners atop the American League West. One team would leave the weekend with the division lead, and the other would leave fighting for a wild card spot.
The Astros were on the sour end of that one. Houston was swept by the Mariners, and because of the Cleveland Guardians' recent hot-streak, the Astros are now on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
The Astros have six games in California to determine their fate for the postseason, and if Houston can't turn it around, it'll be ending its eight-year playoff streak.
Astros' Postseason Streak In Jeopardy
The Astros' weekend series with the Mariners was the biggest series of the year for both teams, and Seattle came into Houston and dominated. The Mariners led for 26 of the 27 innings, and the one exception was a scoreless first inning on Sunday.
"They played good baseball and we didn’t," third baseman Carlos Correa said (h/t MLB.com). "The result is what you get when that happens."
Now, the Mariners hold a three-game lead in the AL West, and the tie-breaker for winning the season series. The thought of still winning the division seems pointless, but now the Astros have to focus on not missing the playoffs entirely.
Mariners sweep the Astros in Houston!
They now lead the AL West by three games and hold the tiebreaker over the Astros pic.twitter.com/LOMUh6Skex
"They pitched good, but they also hit and they played better than us," Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said (h/t MLB.com). "We have to take the day off [Monday] and these last six games, we have to win as many as possible. If we do, I’m pretty sure we’re going to make the playoffs."
The Astros final six-game stretch of the regular season turns into playoff baseball now. If Houston can't win in California this week, its playoff hopes are gone.
However, the Astros know what playoff baseball is like and have that experience. Now it's time for Houston to go out on the diamond and perform like it.
"We have to go out there and figure out a way to win, no matter if it's pretty or ugly," Correa said (h/t MLB.com). "At the end of the day, it’s about the W at the end."
The Astros start the final road trip against the Oakland Athletics, who the Astros are 4-6 against on the season, and then Houston faces the Los Angeles Angels, who its 6-4 against this year.
The Astros went 46-35 at home this year for the second year in a row.
They started 32-14 and finished 14-21.
Anything can happen in baseball, but the Astros do have the weakest schedule of the wild card teams around them. The Guardians, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are all within one game of the Astros.
The Guardians or Tigers will win the AL Central and the other will fight for a wild card spot. However, the Guardians, Tigers and Red Sox all play each other in the final six games, which means somebody is bound to lose some games.
The Tigers end their season with the Tigers, then Red Sox, and the Red Sox end their season with the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold the No. 1 seed in the AL and are still fending off the Yankees, and the Tigers, and the Guardians face the Tigers, and then the Texas Rangers.
— MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2025The Astros need to take care of business in Sacramento and Los Angeles and they should be into the playoffs based on the teams around them beating each other. That means Houston has to find a way to turn things around in the final week of the season, though.
However, manager Joe Espada remains confident in his group. After all, The Astros have found a way to make the playoffs for eight straight years.
It’s one game at a time," Espada said (h/t MLB.com). "We’ve got six to go, six big ones. We played really well on the West Coast. We need to bring it, man. This is crunch time. This is when you play your best. I’ll take this team against any other team when our backs are against the corner."
English (US)