The Mariners are still hanging around, and the Rangers and Astros have nobody to blame but themselves.
Houston had a chance Tuesday night to finish off Seattle for good, but instead the Astros let the game slip away in ugly fashion. After taking the opener of the two-game set 7-0, they were one win from shutting the door. That never happened.
The teams were tied 4-4 after nine innings, and Houston went to Josh Hader in the bottom of the ninth at home. The Astros pushed across a run when Yanier Diaz tripled in the ghost runner, then left Diaz stranded at third. Up 5-4, Hader came back out for Seattle’s final chance.
It unraveled fast. The six-time All-Star had thrown 19 pitches in the inning, hadn’t pitched in six days, and then proceeded to load the bases before walking in the tying run. On the next pitch that mattered, Josh Naylor singled on Hader’s 44th pitch to send the Mariners home with a 6-5 walk-off win.
Josh Naylor walks it off and the Mariners season is alive still.
They need to finish 4-0 with the Rangers and Astros both going 0-4.
Mariners go 10-3 vs. Astros this year… & somehow aren’t winning the division. pic.twitter.com/978gkJXA1t
- Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONTap) September 24, 2026
That result keeps Seattle mathematically alive in the AL West race. It’s a steep climb, but the path is there: the Mariners have to win out, finish 4-0, and both Texas and Houston need to go 0-4. If that happens, Seattle would win the tiebreakers and finish first in the division, sending both the Rangers and Astros into October on the outside.
And the Mariners staying alive isn’t just on Houston.
The Rangers had their own chance to slam the door last night and couldn’t do it either. Texas could have put itself in sole possession of first place with a win over the Mets, but instead watched Jacob Latz surrender the go-ahead homer to Marcus Semien.
Texas still has one more game against New York this afternoon before closing the season with three in Minnesota. Houston has four left against the Athletics in West Sacramento. Seattle, meanwhile, gets a four-game home series against the Angels.
On paper, the Rangers have the toughest road ahead. The Twins are 75-84, the A’s are 63-95, and the Angels are 60-98 and already locked into a bottom-three record this season.
But the bigger issue for Texas is how often it has let control of the division slip away. Missed chances against the Mets, missed chances against AL West opponents, missed chances all season long.
Every time the Rangers have had a shot to seize the AL West in 2026, they’ve let it get away. Now that could cost them the playoffs in brutal fashion.
In Other News...
Rangers Could Soon Face A Front Office Threat They Didn't Need
The front office carousel around baseball is already starting to spin, and it could reach Arlington before long. The Astros moved on from Dana Brown in August, and the Mets are reportedly lining up Derek Falvey to take over as general manager under David Stearns, a reminder that even in the executive ranks, stability can disappear quickly once the offseason conversations begin.
For the Rangers, the concern is less about what has happened elsewhere and more about who might get caught up in the next wave of openings. Ross Fenstermaker was named the clubs GM in November 2024 and remains in that post, but player agents have suggested he is the kind of name other teams could circle as they look to reshape their own baseball operations. With more front office vacancies expected as clubs get ready for next season, Texas may soon have to protect another important piece of its structure. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Are Paying For One Bullpen Problem At The Worst Time
Jacob Latz has become the kind of late-inning workhorse teams usually only turn to when everything else is already fraying, and for the Rangers, that has been the reality for much of the season. The closer and lone All-Star has piled up 30 saves, including a league-leading 13 multi-inning saves, a workload that speaks both to his value and to how often Texas has needed him to cover for shaky starting pitching and an uneven middle relief group.
Now the bill may be coming due at the wrong time. Latzs September has looked far different from his earlier work, with a 4.91 ERA after carrying a 1.65 mark through August, and several key home runs have only sharpened the concern around his recent outings. For a club leaning so hard on one arm to keep the bullpen afloat, the bigger question is how long it can keep asking him to do it before the strain shows up in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Have 3 Prospects With A Crucial Chance To Catch Up
The Rangers are giving eight players an extended look in the Arizona Fall League, but the spotlight falls hardest on three Top 30 prospects who lost valuable time during the minor league season. Mason McConnaughey, Jacob Johnson and Paxton Kling all spent part of the year sidelined by injuries, and now each gets a chance to make up some ground in a setting built for development and extra innings.
For a farm system that wants its young talent progressing on schedule, the AFL can be a useful bridge back into rhythm. McConnaughey, Johnson and Kling arrived there with different paths and different injury histories, but the assignment is the same: get more at-bats or innings, stay healthy and leave a stronger impression heading into next spring. [Read more 🡒]