The Houston Astros went into a crucial series with the Seattle Mariners feeling confident they'd be able to escape with a division lead. Both teams entered the weekend series with the exact same record.
However, Seattle swept the Astros, and now have a commanding three-game lead over Houston in the AL West. To make matters worse, the Cleveland Guardians are surging and are now tied with the Astros for the last AL Wild Card spot.
This puts a lot of pressure on the Astros over their last two series to not only win, but also hope for losses by both Cleveland and Seattle.
Astros facing new reality in AL West
The Houston Astros have won the AL West each season since 2020, and have only NOT won the division one time since 2017.
Carlos Correa shared a short message regarding the series with Seattle:
"I think we did try our best," Correa said. "They were just better."
While the message is short and sweet, there is some cause for concern in Houston that its "dynasty" may be coming to a close.
Now there is still, of course, the chance that Houston makes the playoffs as the last Wild Card and heads back up to Seattle to take on their AL West rival once again in a three-game set. The only difference is that Houston was just granted a huge series at their home ballpark, but a potential Wild Card matchup with the Mariners would be at T-Mobile Park.
It's been a rare sight that the Houston Astros have had to almost "admit defeat" at any point in a season. Houston was eliminated in the Wild Card round last year at the hands of the Detroit Tigers.
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