HOUSTON — The Astros magic number remains at two after they fell to the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Monday night.
Houston was without slugger Yordan Alvarez in Monday’s loss and will be without him for the rest of the series, according to Astros manager Joe Espada. Alvarez suffered a right knee sprain in Sunday’s series finale against the Angels as he was sliding into second base in the third inning.
“He will not be available for this series,” Espada said. “If there’s a chance for him to come back in the regular season, it’s good news.”
Considering Alvarez leads the team in average (.308), home runs (35) and RBIs (86), that’s a big bat missing when the Astros just need one win against Seattle to clinch their fourth straight American League West division title.
Houston can still close out the Mariners on Tuesday night as Framber Valdez goes to the hill for the Astros opposite Logan Gilbert for Seattle.
After Seattle, Houston will travel to Cleveland for the final series of the regular season.
