Here’s why Sunday’s win over the Houston Astros was so crucial for the Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 6-4 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a five-game losing streak. The win also moved the Mariners back into a virtual tie with the Astros for first place in the American League West.

But there’s another reason Sunday’s win was so crucial: It moved the M’s one win closer to a clinching victory over the Astros, which would be huge if the two teams finished tied in the West.

After 10 meetings this season, the Mariners are 6-4 against the Astros. As long as they don’t get swept in the final series of the year between the two (in Houston), the M’s will finish with the tiebreaker in hand and have just one more game to play for the rest of the season.

Given how the Mariners have played over the past month — and how the Astros have played — this game could make a huge difference. According to Tankathon, the Mariners still have the fifth-easiest schedule to play for the rest of the year, so hopefully they can capitalize on that and make the deciding scenarios not matter much.

Tiebreakers were a big deal last year, when the Astros and Texas Rangers both finished 90-72. The Astros won the division on tiebreakers, so that’s a big deal going forward.

The Mariners are 53-48 and will be back in action Monday night when they begin a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, to whom they are coming off three of four losses in Los Angeles last week.

A NEW PODCAST EPISODE IS RELEASED: The fourth episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is now available! In this episode, we discuss how the Mariners can beat the Astros, what they should not do in the series, Andres Munoz’s All-Star Game absence and much more, including our interview with Bryant Robinson, who directed the Julio Rodriguez documentary that recently aired on FS1. CLICK HERE:

HOPING FOR JULIO: Julio Rodriguez left the game Sunday with a scary ankle injury, but early reports are good. Here’s the latest. CLICK HERE:

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, TY: After Sunday’s game, the Mariners made a surprising move with former All-Star Ty France. Here’s the latest news and what happens next. CLICK HERE:

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