Astros fans' anxiety after brutal loss to Mariners not warranted just yet

For a team that hasn't quite clinched a playoff spot just yet, the Houston Astros were still in a tremendous position entering their series with the Mariners this week. All they needed to do was win just one game over Seattle in the series to secure the AL West title, and even in a world where that didn't happen, the odds would still be in the Astros' favor. Clinching earlier would obviously be better, but the only way they wouldn't get into the postseason would involve a catastrophic and, frankly, unlikely collapse.

However, Astros fans were reminded on Monday that there is still baseball to played and this division race isn't over yet.

After getting dominated by Bryce Miller and the Mariners 6-1 in the first game of the set, some Astros fans are getting a bit nervous that this could actually slip away. Fortunately, those worries are, at least for now, unfounded -- even if the loss closed a couple doors for them.

Loss to Mariners on Monday is far from doomsday scenario for Astros

Sometimes you have to just tip your cap. Bryce Miller was incredible for Seattle, and the one opportunity the Astros had to really get to him in the first inning didn't result in putting runs on the board. Hunter Brown kept the Astros close, as he has done for much of the season now, but Houston's bullpen let the game get away in the late innings, as the Astros chose to save their high leverage guys for later.

None of this changes what the Astros need to accomplish this week, beyond failing to clinch with their first opportunity. As long as the combined number of Astros wins and Mariners losses this week equals two or more, Houston still wins the division. However, what the Mariners' win last night DID do is eliminate any chance of the Astros winning the tiebreaker over Seattle in 2024.

This only actually matters if Seattle sweeps the Astros, however. If that happens, the results of the final series of the year get a bit more dicey, as any tie in the division at the end of the season would go the Mariners' way. That said, the Astros would still be in a great spot to snag an AL Wild Card spot if that disaster scenario were to happen, especially if any of the other Wild Card teams falter this week (spoiler: several of them are currently faltering).

In short, winning Monday would have gone a long way towards easing Astros fans' worst fears, and would've allowed the team to immediately start lining things up for the first round of the playoffs. However, that can still happen at any point over the next few days.

Now, if Seattle does somehow manage a sweep in this series, you have every right to start chewing your fingernails.

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