After a season spent jockeying back and forth, with the Astros leading by as many as seven games in early July, the Mariners have surged past their division rivals for the top spot in the AL West. Winning 14 of 15 games will change a team’s playoff outlook in a hurry, especially when that hot streak is punctuated by an intra-division sweep. After taking care of business during a three-game set in Houston, the Mariners have pulled three games ahead of the Astros with six games left to play. And, while the Astros are technically on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at the moment due to a tiebreaker with the Guardians, only a game separates those two teams from the Red Sox and Tigers as we enter a mad dash to the finish.

Assuming both of these teams (and the Yankees) make the pla

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