The Houston Astros have enjoyed a great deal of success over the past two months. After looking dead for much of the first few months of the season, the Astros responded as everybody expected them to. 

Now 4.5 games ahead in the American League West, Houston looks poised to win the division yet again. 

While they should be credited with their impressive play over the past two months, it’s also important to note that the Seattle Mariners have struggled in unexpected ways. That hasn’t changed over their past 10 games, going 3-7. 

If things get interesting down the stretch, the Astros take on the Mariners in their second to last series of the year. That could decide the division. 

As of right now, it doesn’t look like that’ll be the case, 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report doesn’t expect that to happen, either, predicting that Houston will win the division. 

“While those teams fell apart, Houston just kept doing its thing, putting together an eight-game winning streak (all on the road) against Texas, Boston and Tampa Bay to just about bury the Mariners in the span of a little more than a week.”

The Astros winning the division is also very important for their playoff chances. As it currently stands, they wouldn’t make the postseason if they didn’t win the division. 

The Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins all have better records.

If that stays, that’d also mean Seattle wouldn’t make the playoffs.

It’ll take Houston another couple of weeks to solidify the division. If the Mariners continue to play how they have and they go on a decent stretch over the next few games, it could be as good as over entering September. 

That won’t be easy, considering they take on the Philadelphia Phillies and Royals in their next seven games, but they should continue to play well against two of better teams in baseball.

Towards the middle of September, the schedule gets easier. If it gets to that point, they’ll need to take care of business.

More importantly, the Astros should be better positioned to play well heading into October, as they’re getting healthy. The injuries they’ve dealt with add to how impressive their campaign has been.

Only time will tell, but they seem to be in a great position to win this division again.

They’ll look to win another title to solidify their dynasty when the time comes.

Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington has announced that it will close two of its Seattle thrift stores, citing safety concerns, escalating theft and rising rent as key factors in its decision.

SEATTLE (AP) — An apparent cyberattack disrupted internet, phones, email and other systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a third day on Monday as Port of Seattle officials worked to investigate the outages and restore full service.

“We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers,” the airport’s aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a press conference Sunday.

Lyttle said the airport is investigating with the help of outside experts and is working closely with federal partners, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Officials have not released details about the full scope of the outage, but Lyttle said it was not affecting TSA’s ability to screen passengers.

Some airlines, including Delta and Alaska Airlines, reported no service interruptions from the outage. Both of the airlines use Sea-Tac as a hub. Still, the outage did affect the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, prompting airlines to warn passengers to avoid checking bags if possible to avoid potential delays.

The airport also warned travelers to allow extra time at the airport and to use airline mobile applications to get boarding passes and bag tags when possible.

Still, many travelers faced security lines that were longer than normal and long waits at baggage claims and checking. Terminal screens were also out throughout the airport, making it difficult for some to determine their assigned gate.

“Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return,” the airport wrote on Facebook on Sunday.