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The Houston Astros, despite all the adversity they've faced this season, are still in first place in the American League West. But they've got company. The Seattle Mariners, a team who's hungry to make it back to the postseason, have caught Houston and are in the tie with the Astros atop the division heading into play on Wednesday.
With about six weeks remaining in the 2025 campaign, the Astros figure to be a dog fight for the rest of the season. The Astros will welcome the Mariners in Houston next month in what's sure to be pivotal series for both ball clubs.
But the Mariners aren't the only team threatening to derails the Astros' postseason hopes. The Cleveland Guardians have caught fire and are nipping at the heels of the AL Wild Card contenders, which, at the moment, also includes the Astros.
Astros’ playoff hopes are suddenly in real danger thanks to Mariners and Guardians
The Guardians were left for dead earlier this season — bunched up behind the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. Cleveland has now won eight of their last 10 games and is just a game back of the New York Yankees for the final AL Wild Card spot.
Speaking of the Yankees, Aaron Boone's ball club has rattled off two straight and has one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. The Yanks have seven games against the hapless Chicago White Sox and another seven against the lifeless Baltimore Orioles. History shows that the Astros would have no problem meeting the Yankees in the postseason, but they may in fact be battling it out with the Bronx Bombers just to make it to October.
Finally, the Boston Red Sox, a team that traded arguably their best player (Rafael Devers) midway through the season, are 11 games above .500 and very much in the postseason mix at the moment.
What seemed like a runaway at the All-Star break — when the Astros had a comfortable five game lead over the Mariners — has suddenly become a nail-biter with about six weeks left. Astros fans are used to hitting cruise control about this time of year, but with five teams within four games of one another, this year's postseason race has become quite contentious.