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Playoff Race: Where Seattle Mariners stand after win over Astros

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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.

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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.

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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:

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– 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.

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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

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Roster Moves: Seattle Seahawks activate Young off IR

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Roster Moves: Seattle Seahawks activate Young off IR


The Seattle Seahawks activated wide receiver Dareke Young from injured reserve and elevated running back Cam Akers and offensive tackle Amari Knight off the practice squad Thursday ahead of their pivotal primetime showdown against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.

Bump & Stacy: 3 keys for Seattle Seahawks to beat the Rams

Young, 26, has missed Seattle’s past eight games with a quadricep injury. The fourth-year pro is a key special teams member for the Seahawks and was on the field for over 50% of the team’s special teams snaps in each of the six games he’s played this season. He has seven tackles and 10 kickoff returns for 322 yards. He also has two receptions for 48 yards.

Akers, 26, would be making his Seahawks debut against his former team if he gets into Thursday’s game. He played in three games for the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season and totaled 19 yards on five carries.

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A sixth-year pro, Akers spent three-plus seasons with the Rams after they selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Florida State. Akers’ best season with Los Angeles came in 2022 when he rushed for career highs of 786 yards and seven touchdowns. He has 2,044 yards and 13 TDs on the ground in 56 career NFL games.

Knight, 24, provides the Seahawks with some depth at tackle with starting left tackle Charles Cross ruled out for Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury. Veteran backup Josh Jones is getting the start in place of Cross.

Knight went undrafted out of UCF and made his pro debut in Seattle’s Week 4 win over Arizona.

The Seahawks face the Rams on Thursday night at 5:15 p.m. Radio coverage begins at 2 p.m. with the pregame show on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle sports app. 

Seattle Seahawks coverage

• Breaking down everything at stake in Seahawks-Rams showdown
• Seattle Seahawks rule out LT Charles Cross for showdown vs Rams
• How Seattle Seahawks and L.A. Rams stack up in NFL power rankings
• Do Rams have Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold’s number?
• Huard: Shaheed will be X-factor for Seattle Seahawks’ stretch run

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Alex Carpenter scores twice as Seattle Torrent beat Charge 4-1

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Alex Carpenter scores twice as Seattle Torrent beat Charge 4-1


SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 17: Alex Carpenter #25 of the Seattle Torrent celebrates her goal during the second period against the Ottawa Charge at Climate Pledge Arena on December 17, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.  (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

Alex Carpenter had two goals and an assist, and Hannah Bilka had a goal and two assists as the Seattle Torrent earned a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday night.

Hannah Murphy was 38.1 seconds away from the first shutout in Torrent history before Ottawa finally got on the board late in the third period on a goal from Rebecca Leslie. Murphy made 24 saves on 25 shots in the victory.

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Julia Gosling also added a goal on the power play as the Torrent won their second straight game.

Seattle took the lead on Gosling’s power play goal late in the first period with Rory Guilday in the box for a hooking penalty. Ottawa looked like they were going to get the game into the intermission scoreless after clearing the zone in the final 20 seconds of the period, but Carpenter and Bilka combined to find Gosling driving the back post for a finish past Sanni Ahola for a 1-0 lead.

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Another power play chance off a Mannon McMahon tripping penalty allowed Carpenter to strike for a 2-0 lead.

A shot from the right circle from Bilka deflected off a skate to Carpenter at the front of the net as she back-handed the puck into the net for a two-goal advantage.

The Charge then lost track of Carpenter in the offensive zone as she found space directly in front of Ahola, beating the goaltender for a 3-0 lead off a pass from Megan Carter off the left boards.

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Murphy was sharp in net for Seattle, turning aside 13 shots in the first period alone as Ottawa had the upper hand early. She’d face just 12 more shots over the final two periods combined, with only Leslie’s goal finding a way through.

After Bilka’s empty-net goal made it 4-0, Leslie outflanked Carter and the Seattle defense to get a near breakaway look in on Murphy that she finished to avoid the shutout for Ottawa.

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Murphy has been the goaltender for both of the Torrent’s victories this season as the rookie out of Colgate University has been terrific early in the season for Seattle. 

The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

MORE TORRENT NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

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Two late power play goals give Seattle Torrent first win, 2-1, over Sirens

Seattle Torrent set PWHL attendance record in inaugural home-opener

Fans pack Climate Pledge Arena for Seattle Torrent’s historic home opener

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Torrent set record for highest-attended U.S. women’s hockey game, lose 3-0 to Minnesota Frost

Julia Gosling scores first goal in Seattle Torrent history in team’s debut

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Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

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Jorge Polanco sends message to Seattle Mariners fans

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Jorge Polanco sends message to Seattle Mariners fans


Jorge Polanco won’t be back with the Seattle Mariners next season, but he left the club and its fan base heartfelt message after his signing with the New York Mets became official on Tuesday.

Morosi breaks down what could be next for Seattle Mariners’ offseason

Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Mets, posted the following to his Instagram page.

#Godfirst. I cannot express with words how grateful me and my family are for the belief YOU had in me. First you traded for me and then you signed me when everyone else doubted me after surgery. YOU made me feel wanted and loved and I will be forever grateful for that. I became a better player and person because of YOU. YOU embraced my wife, kids, and me as one of your own…again, I will be forever grateful for that. YOU were an inspiration for me every night and I just wish we could have delivered you the trophy YOU deserve. I will always cherish my time with YOU…I will never forget these last two years because of YOU.

YOU= Seattle Fans, Teammates, Trainers, Coaching Staff, Front Office, and Owner.

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I will always smile thinking of YOU all.

Tridents UP!

Polanco was hindered by a knee issue and had a disappointing first season with the Mariners in 2024 after he was acquired in a trade that sent four players to Minnesota. But after coming back to the M’s on a one-year deal before the start of 2025, he had a resurgent campaign that helped key the club’s run its first American League West title and AL Championship Series appearance since 2001.

After posting career worsts with a .213 average and 29.2% strikeout rate in 2024, the 32-year-old second baseman and designated hitter batted .265 with an .821 OPS, 30 doubles, 26 home runs and 78 RBIs over 138 games in 2025. His strikeout rate dropped to 15.6%, marking the largest year-to-year dip in strikeout percentage in MLB history (minimum 450 plate appearances), per MLB.com’s Mike Petriello.

Polanco was extremely clutch for the Mariners all season long. He led the league with a 1.284 OPS and 259 wRC+ in high-leverage situations, and his .438 batting average was second.

That clutch hitting showed up in the postseason as well. Polanco homered twice off two-time reigning AL Cy Young-winner Tarik Skubal during Game 2 of the AL Division Series and delivered one of the biggest hits in Mariners history with a walk-off single in the 15th inning of their series-clinching Game 5 win. He also hit the go-ahead three-run homer in Seattle’s Game 2 ALCS win.

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Polanco triggered a $6 million player option for 2026 by reaching 450 plate appearances in the regular season, but he declined the option to become a free agent. He was a top offseason target for Seattle before signing with New York.

More Seattle Mariners offseason coverage

• Donovan or Marte? Weighing Seattle Mariners’ 2B trade options
• Seattle Mariners sign backup catcher to one-year deal
• Seattle Mariners reportedly a front-runner for Cardinals’ Donovan
• Drayer: How Polanco’s departure impacts Seattle Mariners’ offseason
• Why Nolan Arenado could make sense as a Mariners trade target






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