SEATTLE — Although the Mariners were swept by the Texas Rangers over the weekend in a crucial series, a playoff spot is still within reach for Seattle as the final week of the Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season gets underway.
Seven games remain on the schedule for the Mariners, and all of those will be played at T-Mobile Park against the two teams just ahead of Seattle in the standings. Monday begins a three-game series against the Houston Astros, which is followed by a four-game series against the Rangers.
Entering Monday's games, the Mariners trail the Rangers by three games in the American League West and are behind the Astros by a half-game in the AL Wild Card race.
What are the Mariners' playoff scenarios?
Simply put, the Mariners need to win a majority of their games over the final week of the season in order to maintain a shot at the postseason. If the Mariners can win at least two of the next three games against Houston, Seattle will control its own destiny for the final AL Wild Card spot.
A win in the series against the Astros would push the Mariners ahead of Houston, putting Seattle in the driver's seat for the final series of the regular season. While the Mariners will be battling against the Rangers, Houston will head down to Arizona for a series against the Diamondbacks.
As long as the Mariners then fared better in their final four games than Houston, Seattle would be a lock for at least the third and final Wild Card spot. The Mariners could even secure the second Wild Card spot if the Toronto Blue Jays -- who are 2.5 games ahead of the Mariners as of Monday -- stumble in their final week of games.
A division title would require the Mariners to win the series against the Astros and then likely take three of four or even sweep the Rangers to get ahead of Texas in the AL West.
If the Mariners don't get on a hot streak this week and get some help from their opponents, there will not be another magical postseason run in store for Seattle.
What are the Mariners' playoff odds?
According to Baseball-Reference, the Mariners have a 45.1% chance of making the postseason going into Monday's games. FanGraphs has the M's slightly higher, at 45.2%.
Are tickets still available for the Mariners' final homestand?
The Mariners have sold out the final three games against the Texas Rangers but said last week tickets were still available for the full three-game series with the Astros Monday-Wednesday, as well as Thursday's game against Texas.