The Houston Astros have had a terrible week.
They’ve lost five of their last six games—including four shutout losses—and been outscored 41-7 (-34). Surely that means Houston (69-58) has lost ground in the AL West race?
Nope, they actually gained a half game on the Seattle Mariners (68-60) in the past week. Houston now has a 1.5-game lead in the division.
Last Wednesday, the #Astros were 68-53 and led the division by 1.0 games over Seattle.
Since then, they’ve lost 5 of 6, been shut out 4 times, and outscored 41-7, all to see Houston lead EXTENDED to 1.5 games.— Javier Gonzalez (@Astros_Coverage) August 20, 2025
What’s happening in the AL West?
On Aug. 13, the Astros were 68-53 and one game ahead of the Mariners for the division lead. Seattle then proceeded to drop six of its next seven games, including a series sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
So, there’s a clear silver lining for Astros fans. Yes, they’ve looked bad this past week, but they’ve somehow still managed to gain ground in the AL West.
“We’re in a great spot besides the terrible play in the last week,” Astros third baseman Carlos Correa said, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. “We’ve got to acknowledge that, and we’ve got to recognize the things we are not doing very well right now in order for us to move forward, be better and be the team we know we can be.”
On the other hand, Seattle is fortunate to not be further down in the division race. Like Houston, their recent rough stretch has them pondering ways to turn things around.
“I feel like the key is how we respond as a team,” Mariners star Julio Rodriguez said, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “It’s easy to go through a time when it’s easy, when everybody’s playing good and all that. But it’s how do we respond in this situation?”
The Mariners get a chance to bounce back on Friday when they begin a three-game series against the Athletics. Houston starts a four-game set at Baltimore tonight.
