Mariners' playoff odds, scenarios entering final series vs. Texas

There is still some hope left for the Mariners' postseason aspirations, but a lot will have to go right over the next four days.

SEATTLE — A loss in one of the franchise's most important regular season games in recent memory on Wednesday night has pushed the Mariners' playoff odds to needing a near-miracle.

The 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros now has the Mariners 1.5 games behind their rivals for the third and final American League Wild Card spot, as well as 4 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

One final series remains for the Mariners, a four-game slate against those very same Rangers who are atop the division. The Astros depart Seattle and will travel south to Arizona to close the season with a three-game series against the Diamondbacks and Lakewood product Corbin Carroll.

Playoff scenarios are always more convoluted than they appear, but the bottom line is the Mariners must at least win the series against the Rangers and take 3 out of 4 games to give themselves a realistic chance at sneaking into the playoffs.

The Mariners do have tiebreakers over both the Astros and Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card, so a tied record with either one of those clubs at season's end would benefit the Mariners.

Seattle fans should also be rooting for the Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays throughout the weekend, as each loss by either the Astros or Blue Jays would give the Mariners' postseason pursuit a bit more life.

Logan Gilbert will be on the mound for the Mariners on Thursday night, hoping to do something Seattle has struggled mightily with in 2023: beating the Rangers. Seattle is on a 7-game losing streak against Texas, having not beaten the club since May.