Job ‘not finished’ for first-place M’s after huge sweep of Astros

Sep 21, 2025, 9:44 PM | Updated: 10:28 pm

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners are in the driver’s seat in the American League West, and they aren’t ready to take their foot off the gas.

After years of trying to chase them down and falling short time after time, the Seattle Mariners went into Houston and swept the Astros to grab the tiebreaker and take a commanding three-game lead in the division with just six games to go.

Seattle Mariners’ magic number to win AL West down to three

And they did it in dominant fashion, never trailing and leading for all but one inning while outscoring Houston 17-7 over the three-game series.

“Couldn’t ask for a better three-game set,” catcher Cal Raleigh said. “Obviously, there was a lot on the line. And I give credit to the guys here in the clubhouse. They never flinched and brought the same energy every day, the same focus. (They weren’t) satisfied after one win or two wins.”

It was just the third time the Mariners have swept the Astros on the road since Houston won the first of its seven AL West titles in 2017. And it comes after plenty of history between the teams while Seattle desperately tried to chase Houston down.

Just three years ago, the Astros ended the Mariners’ first playoff run in 21 years, finishing off a sweep on Seattle’s homefield in an epic, 18-inning marathon.

There was a small silver lining for the M’s at the time. They played the Astros as tough as any other AL team did in the playoffs. The gap appeared to be closing, even if only just a little bit. But Houston went on to win the next two division titles, including clinching their seventh in eight years in front of the Mariners at T-Mobile Park last September.

That all just added to the magnitude of a sweep that puts Seattle in control of the division heading into the final week.

“They’re a division rival, so it’s always competitive games here, and it means a little more just with what’s happened the last few years,” Raleigh said. “They’re a good team. They’re a good team and they’re hard to beat, especially in this place. Proud of the guys here, and looking to keep going and just finish this thing off the right way.”

Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert was glad the schedule lined up the way it did with the important series taking place at such a pivotal point.

“It’s like, may the best team win,” he said. “… I think if we win the West and are whatever seed in the AL, I want us to prove that – and I feel like we kind of did this weekend.”

The Mariners are in a position to clinch the division as soon as Wednesday. They need any combination of wins or Astros losses that add up to three to get it done.

According to FanGraphs, the M’s are a near lock to win the AL West with 98.3% odds. But they know the job isn’t done until after their magic number hits zero. After the monumental sweep in Houston, Raleigh, Gilbert and shortstop J.P. Crawford were all quick to point out there is still work to be done.

“We had a great road trip, but the job’s not finished,” Crawford said. “We have six more important games that we have to take care of, so we gotta look forward to Tuesday.”