Seattle, WA
Playoff Race: Where Seattle Mariners stand after win over Astros
The Seattle Mariners aren’t checking out of the AL West race yet, and they’re also a little closer to a wild card because of it.
On a night where the Houston Astros could have clinched the division with a win over Seattle, the M’s rode a scoreless start from native Texan Bryce Miller to a 6-1 victory on Monday at Minute Maid Park.
Miller shines, Mariners win 6-1 to keep Astros from clinching
Don’t get too excited – the Astros (85-72) still can clinch the AL West with a win in either of the following two games of the series. But the good news is if the Mariners (81-76) can avoid that from happening, they’ll have an ace in the hole as they have guaranteed the season series over the Astros. Monday’s win makes the M’s 7-4 against Houston this year, so if the two division rivals somehow tie at the end of the season, the Mariners would take the AL West crown.
That remains a long shot. Not only would Seattle need to sweep Houston to keep its AL West hopes alive, but it would need help from the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians, who play the Astros in three games to close out the season. With five games to go for both the Mariners and Astros, Seattle needs Houston to not get to 87 wins, while also getting to at least 85 wins itself. If Houston loses out, they’ll be 85-77. If the Mariners win out, they will be 86-76.
The wild card – two of them, actually – remains the Mariners’ best shot at making the playoffs, however.
MLB Standings: Division | Wild card
Most of Seattle’s competition in that race had Monday off, so the Mariners picked up a half-game on the three teams they’re chasing for the wild cards. They’re now 1 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals (82-74), who are tied for the last two postseason spots from the American League. The M’s are also a half-game behind the Minnesota Twins (81-75) in the chase.
Seattle can’t rely on just tying with any of those teams, though. The M’s will need to finish a game ahead in the standings of at least two of them to make the playoffs.
There was one more team alive in the race for the AL wild cards that played Monday. The Boston Red Sox improved to 79-78 with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. They’re now 3 1/2 games back of a playoff spot and two behind Seattle.
Fangraphs’ playoff odds for the Mariners are at 11.9% after Monday’s win. The M’s have a 9.4% chance at a wild card, and a 2.5% chance at winning the AL West.
One more note on the Mariners following Monday’s win: Now at 81 wins on the year, Seattle is guaranteed to not have a losing season. One more win over the final five games will give the Mariners their fourth consecutive winning season, tying a club record that happened once in franchise history from 2000-03.
How can the Seattle Mariners make the playoffs?
• To take the AL West, Seattle needs to win at least four more times than the Astros do over the final five games. The Astros’ magic number is two, meaning they will clinch the division with any combination of Houston wins and Seattle losses that reaches two. With the two rivals playing again Tuesday and Wednesday, that means the Astros can clinch with a win in either game.
• To earn a wild card, the Mariners need at least two of these to happen this week:
– Win at least two more games than the Twins.
– Win at least three more games than the Royals.
– Win at least three more games than the Tigers.
Who plays who?
The Mariners (81-76) have two more games at Houston, then finish up with a three-game home series against Oakland (67-89).
The Astros (85-72) play the AL Central champion Guardians (90-67) in Cleveland after their series with the Mariners.
The Twins (81-75) host Miami (57-99) for three games, then Baltimore (86-70), the likely first AL wild card winner.
The Royals (82-74) are at Washington (69-87) and Atlanta (85-71) to wrap up the regular season.
The Tigers (82-74) play the Rays in Detroit, then welcome the MLB-worst White Sox (36-120) to town.
The Rays (78-78) go to Boston after the series with the Tigers.
The Red Sox (79-78) are at Toronto (73-84) before the series with the Rays.
What’s next
The Mariners play the Astros at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday, then 11:10 a.m. Wednesday. Mariners Radio Network coverage can be heard on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the Seattle Sports app and SeattleSports.com beginning at 4 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Wednesday with the pregame show. For more on how to hear Mariners radio broadcasts from Seattle Sports, click here.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Mariners activate reliever Gregory Santos from injured list
• Julio Rodríguez named AL Player of the Week
• The Final Push: What the Mariners are up against in last week
• Astros star hurt before huge series against M’s in Houston
• Five Seattle Mariners prospects who raised their stock with big seasons
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners acquire catcher from Twins, DFA RHP Kowar
The Seattle Mariners added depth at catcher by acquiring 29-year-old Jhonny Pereda from the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations.
In a corresponding move, the Mariners designated right-handed reliever Jackson Kowar for assignment to clear space on their 40-man roster.
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Pereda joins free agent addition Andrew Knizner as potential backup catcher options for Seattle behind Cal Raleigh. The Mariners signed the 30-year-old Knizner to a one-year contract in December.
Pereda made his MLB debut in April 2024 with the Miami Marlins and spent the 2025 season with the Athletics and Minnesota Twins. The Venezuelan native has appeared in 48 career MLB games, slashing .241/.299/.296 with six doubles.
Pereda was designated for assignment by the Twins last Friday. He has one minor league option remaining.
Kowar, 29, was acquired by the Mariners as part of the December 2023 trade that sent outfielder Jarred Kelenic to the Atlanta Braves.
Kowar missed the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and spent last season hopping between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma. He made 15 relief appearances with the Mariners last year, posting a 4.24 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks in 17 innings after being activated from the injured list in late May.
Seattle Mariners news and analysis
• 2026 will be Rick Rizzs’ last season as voice of the Mariners
• Seattle Mariners announce broadcast team for 2026 season
• Reports: Seattle Mariners land top international prospect for 2027
• Mariners have league-high seven MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects
• Seattle Mariners acquire RHP Cooper Criswell from NY Mets
Seattle, WA
Seattle weather: Dry day Tuesday, showers return tonight
SEATTLE – We start off dry on Tuesday, then the chance of showers returns this evening. We have been dry for 14 days now with zero measurable rainfall at SEA Airport. Late Tuesday into Wednesday we could see potential freezing rain at the passes. Winds will be gusty at times Tuesday from the east, then switch to more westerly winds by Wednesday.
We start off dry on Tuesday, then the chance of showers returns this evening.
What’s next:
We will see mostly cloudy skies Tuesday with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s, with showers returning by the late evening hours.
We will see mostly cloudy skies Tuesday with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.
A few showers will start to move in later Tuesday, with snowflakes or freezing rain into early Wednesday.
A few showers will start to move in later Tuesday, with snowflakes or freezing rain into early Wednesday.
Winds are forecasted to pick up Wednesday as our next system starts to roll through. Strongest winds will be along the coast and north interior.
Winds are forecasted to pick up Wednesday as our next system starts to roll through. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Shower chances continue through the rest of the week with milder afternoon temperatures. Snow levels will also be high through Friday, reaching 6000 to 7000ft. Forecast is looking a little drier for the weekend, with a few sprinkles still in the forecast for now.
Shower chances continue through the rest of the week with milder afternoon temperatures.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the FOX 13 Seattle Weather Team and the National Weather Service.
Seattle, WA
Walker ‘set a tone’ for Seattle Seahawks’ NFC title win
Over the past month, Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III has seemingly struck the right balance between attacking downhill and taking the yardage in front of him, while still mixing in the tantalizing elusiveness and explosion that makes him such a dangerous home-run threat.
It’s resulted in the best stretch of his career.
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And it was on display again in Sunday night’s NFC Championship, as Walker totaled 111 yards from scrimmage to help Seattle advance to the Super Bowl with a 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Walker rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, while adding four catches for 49 yards. And he did so while taking on the bulk of the workload in the Seahawks’ first game since second-leading rusher Zach Charbonnet went down with a season-ending torn ACL.
“I thought Ken Walker was outstanding last night, considering he was being hit in the backfield (on some plays) almost as soon as he was handed the ball,” Bob Stelton said Monday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “He was driving the pile. The legs were churning.
“It just really felt like he set a tone,” Stelton added. “He ran with an attitude. And it was really cool to see that, because they needed it.”
Kenneth Walker III TOUCHDOWN. Seattle starts fast.
LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/iH8SOGpK5o— NFL (@NFL) January 25, 2026
Walker set that tone on the Seahawks’ opening drive, turning a potential loss of yardage into a hard-fought 4-yard gain while bulldozing his way to the Rams’ 2-yard line. Then, on the ensuing third-and-goal play, Walker showcased his spectacular explosion by bouncing outside and racing around the edge for a 2-yard TD to put Seattle on the board.
Walker really dazzled on the next possession, when he led the Seahawks on a field-goal drive with an impressive three-play sequence. It began with Walker bursting through a hole for an 8-yard gain. On the next play, he unleashed a jaw-dropping juke on linebacker Omar Speights for another 8-yard gain. And he followed that by taking a screen pass for 14 more yards.
“That juke he put on Omar Speights, that was amazing,” Stelton said. “… He had the defender grabbing at air.”
This was nasty by Kenneth Walker III
LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9V7pJ3DQCd— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2026
During a third-quarter touchdown drive, Walker had another tough, physical run where he pushed the pile an extra 5 yards for an 11-yard gain.
And in the game’s closing minutes, Walker kickstarted a pivotal clock-chewing drive by catching a short pass in the flat and eluding three defenders on his way to a 15-yard gain.
“He had a lot of great runs,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said during his Monday afternoon press conference. “He really did. And talk about hidden yardage within that game, he’s responsible for a lot of those hidden yards.
“I mean, we’d like to block him a little bit better at points. But when you have a guy like K9, he can make it right for you, so that was awesome.”
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• Seattle Seahawks Injury Updates: The latest on Thomas, Ouzts and more
• Seattle Seahawks had a brilliant way to get JSN open in NFC title win
• Seattle Seahawks’ Emmanwori ‘stood out all game’ in NFC Championship
• Brock and Salk: Seattle Seahawks have embraced Macdonald’s message
• Facing former team, Kupp helps propel Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl
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