MLB Postseason news: Astros-Mariners benches clear, Marlins make waves, Cubs fall again
By Drew Koch
The race for the Wild Card chase in both the American League and the National League is getting extremely heated. So much so that the benches cleared in the game between the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros.
But that's not the only action that saw the benches clear on Wednesday night. The Atlanta Braves bench ran onto the field following a walk-off win over the Chicago Cubs.
The Miami Marlins experienced the highs and lows on Wednesday as well while facing down a doubleheader on the road at Citi Field against the New York Mets. The chase for the MLB Postseason is in full swing with just four days left in the 2023 regular season.
MLB Postseason news: Astros-Mariners benches clear
After striking out Seattle Mariners' superstar Julio Rodriguez, Houston Astros reliever Hector Neris celebrated and then began talking smack as he walked in the direction of J-Rod. Is there a history between these two? Because if there's not, it was incredibly odd behavior on the part of Neris.
This, of course, led to both benches clearing and Neris cowardly made his way back to the Astros dugout. After a short delay, order was restored and no punches were thrown. The bigger picture, however, is that the Astros won the game 8-3 and are sitting pretty in the race for the AL Wild Card.
The Texas Rangers took care of business on Wednesday night dispatching of the Los Angeles Angels, so the Astros were unable to gain a game in the AL West standings. However, Houston now has a 1.5 game lead over the Mariners with four days remaining in the 2023 season.
Seattle hosts Texas for four games beginning today with the Astros headed to the desert to play the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the D-backs having everything to play for, and looking to secure a Wild Card spot of their own, there's no telling how the next few games will play out.