Astros eke out win in Seattle, gain ground on Rangers in race for AL West

Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.

The final week of what looks like a wild race to the finish for the AL West started with a good result for the Houston Astros.

The Astros, who are looking to reclaim first place, eked out a win over the Seattle Mariners thanks to a seventh-inning homer by Chris Carter. The Astros held on to win 3-2 and gain a game on the rival Texas Rangers, who lost to the Detroit Tigers on Monday and now have just a game-and-a-half lead in the division.

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Houston currently holds the second AL wild card, but would certainly like to avoid the possibility of a one-game postseason and take back first place from the Rangers. They got a strong outing from starter Lance McCullers and three homers en route to their win. The others came from George Springer and Evan Gattis.

Meanwhile, the Rangers got thumped by the Tigers, who won 7-4. Two of those runs came in the ninth, when this one was all but over. The Tigers got a nice start out of Justin Verlander (five Ks and one run in six innings) and a five-run fifth inning that proved too much for Texas.

ANGELS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT, STILL VERY MUCH IN THE HUNT
It took some drama, but the Los Angeles Angels won their sixth straight game Monday night, a 5-4 walk-off over the Oakland Athletics that kept the Halos very much in the postseason hunt.

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David Murphy was the hero on this night, bringing home Colin Cowgill with a bottom-of-the-ninth single. The Angels stayed a half-game behind the Astros for the second AL wild-card spot and are now two games out of the AL West lead. The Angels might have divinity on their side too. They’re now 6-0 since Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.

THE TWINS WIN AGAIN, KEEP STICKING AROUND TOO
Staying in the AL, the Minnesota Twins are still holding on to their playoff hopes too. They’re only in the hunt for a wild-card spot, but that journey kept moving forward with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.

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Tommy Milone was a late fill-in starter for the Twins, subbing for the sick Phil Hughes, and he Milone did enough, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings, to help the Twins hold their ground. They’re a game and a half behind the Astros now. With their loss, the Indians are five back for a wild-card spot and could be eliminated Tuesday.

CARDS EDGE PIRATES IN POSSIBLE POSTSEASON PREVIEW
It sure felt like a postseason game Monday night between the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals and the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates, who also happen to be the two teams with the best records in MLB. They matched blank frames until the ninth inning, when the Cards put three on the scoreboard against Pirates closer Mark Melancon.

Jon Jay singled and Matt Carpenter came around the score when the Pittsburgh outfield couldn’t handle the ball. How about some insurance runs? Mark Reynolds followed that with a two-run homer that gave the Cardinals the 3-0 decision.

Both the Cardinals and the Pirates have punched their tickets to the postseason, but Pittsburgh is trying to catch St. Louis in the NL Central standings and avoid a wild-card game. With the win, the Cardinals’ magic number is down to two, which means another Cardinals win Tuesday will seal the division. Either way, there’s a chance these two teams will meet again in the playoffs.

DODGERS DROP FOURTH STRAIGHT, MISS CHANCE TO CLINCH
The Los Angeles Dodgers could have clinched the NL West with a win against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. They also could have knocked the Giants out of postseason contention. Neither happened, as the Giants pulled out a 12th inning, 3-2 win on a sac fly from Alejandro De Aza.

Earlier in the game, the Giants got two runs off Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke and brought a 2-1 lead into the ninth. The Dodgers tied it up in the ninth, but couldn’t bring another run across. It was until the 12th inning that either team could score. Marlon Byrd started off the rally with a single. Kelby Tomlinson moved Byrd to third with another single, setting up the game-winning sac fly.

The Dodgers have another chance to clinch Tuesday, as their ace, Clayton Kershaw takes the hill against the Giants’ best pitcher, Madison Bumgarner. Ought to be a good one.

Want to see more from Monday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.

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