MLB Postseason news: JV turns back time, D'Backs missed chance, Hader dooms Padres
By Drew Koch
We didn't have a full slate of games on Monday, but that doesn't mean there weren't playoff implications hanging in the balance. In fact, one team may well have played their way right out of the MLB Postseason.
It was full steam ahead for the Texas Rangers, as Bruce Bochy's ball club took down the Ohtani-less and Trout-less Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Texas holds a 2.5 game edge over the Houston Astros in the AL West.
Speaking of the Astros, Dusty Baker's squad was able to avoid disaster on Monday night with a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Houston has opened up a 1.5 game lead over the M's with two games left in their seasons series.
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MLB Postseason news: Justin Verlander turns back time
What more can you say about Justin Verlander? The Houston Astros needed a vintage performance from their ace on Monday in Seattle and they got it. JV tossed eight innings, struck out eight batters, walked just one, and only allowed one run to cross the dish in the Astros 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
These two ball clubs are neck-and-neck, and judging by the six-game winning streak the Texas Rangers are now riding, the Astros and Mariners are battling for second place in the American League West with a trip to the MLB Postseason on the line.
Both the Astros and Mariners and 3-7 in their last 10 contests, but Monday's loss by Seattle is their fourth in a row. Not only did Verlander handle his business on the road in Seattle, the former Cy Young Award-winner was going head-to-head with Luis Castillo.
The Mariners ace couldn't hold serve as Castillo allowed five run on eight hits over six innings in the loss. The right-hander punched out eight Astros batters, but Castillo allowed two balls to leave the yard, and the Mariners' bats were now match for Justin Verlander.