AL Playoff Roundup (Aug. 21): Mariners Stumble Again to Lowly A's, Slip in Wild-Card Chase

The Houston Astros still maintain the best record in the American League, and the three-team wild-card picture is still a jumbled mess. Here's what happened Sunday, with a look ahead to the next few nights of games and the most current playoff snapshot.

There is a lot at stake in the American League wild-card race, because getting the No. 4 seed earns the right to play the first-round games at home.

The Seattle Mariners have had a grip on that spot, but two straight losses to the lowly Oakland Athletics has changed that. They've slipped behind both Tampa Bay and Toronto by percentage points, though they still lead the Minnesota Twins by two games.

There's a lot to be decided still, with six weeks to go in the regular season. Here are Sunday's results, the week's early schedule and the current snapshot of the playoff picture, with seedings and opponents.

Sunday's playoff results

• ASTROS 5, BRAVES 4: Jose Urquidy picked up his 12th win as the Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 to avoid a sweep by the world champions. Houston closer Ryan Pressley was touched for two runs in the ninth, but hung on to get his 25th save.
• YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 2: The Yankees also avoided a sweep, finally beating the Blue Jays 4-2 thanks to Andrew Benintendi's two-run homer that broke a tie in the seventh inning. It was just the third New York victory in its past 12 games.
• RAYS 3, ROYALS 2: Harold Ramirez had three hits, including an RBI single in the fifth inning, to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, winning the four-game series 3-1. To read the complete game story, CLICK HERE
• ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 3: Oakland got three hits from Shea Langeliers — including a triple that broke a major-league-record 81-game drought  — to beat Seattle for the second straight day. Luis Castillo, Seattle's big trade deadline pickup, took the loss after giving up four runs.
• RANGERS 7, TWINS 0: Minnesota lost for the second straight day, falling 7-0 to the Texas Rangers. The Twins had just four hits off of Texas starter Kohie Arihara and Taylor Hearn pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts for the save.
• ORIOLES 5, RED SOX 3: Jorge Mateo had a three-run double in the eighth inning to give the Orioles a 5-3 in the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.  
• GUARDIANS vs. WHITE SOX, ppd. rain.

Monday's playoff schedule

• Chicago White Sox (Michael Kopech 4-9, 3.25 ERA) at Kansas City Royals (Daniel Lynch 4-8, 4.52 ERA), 2:20 p.m. ET.
• New York Mets (Max Scherzer 9-2, 2.15 ERA) at New York Yankees (Domingo German 1-2, 4.45 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET. 
• Los Angeles Angels (Tucker Davidson 2-3, 6.75 ERA) at Tampa Bay Rays (Jeffrey Springs 5-3, 2.52), 7:10 p.m. ET. 
• Texas Rangers (Cole Ragans 0-2, 5.02 ERA) at Minnesota Twins (Sonny Gray 7-3, 3.11 ERA), 7:10 p.m. ET 

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo (48) reacts after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning in the game at Yankee Stadium. (Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports)

Tuesday's playoff schedule

• Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 p.m. ET 
• New York Mets at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET
• Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET
• Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. ET
• Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros, 8:10 p.m. ET
• Cleveland Guardians at San Diego Padres, 9:40 p.m. ET
• Washington Nationals at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 p.m. ET

If the playoffs started today ...

• No. 1 seed — The Houston Astros (78-45, AL West leader, would get first-round bye) are the top seed, and are 3.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees after Sunday's win. They are 11.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
• No. 2 seed — The New York Yankees (74-48, AL East leader, would get first-round bye) have lost nine of their past 12 games, and their lead in the division is now down to eight games ahead of Tampa Bay and Toronto. 
• No. 3 seed — The Cleveland Guardians (64-56, the AL Central leader would host No. 6 seed in best-of-three first-round series) have a 1 1/2-game lead over Minnesota and a 2 1/2-game lead over Chicago in the division race.
• No. 4 seed — The Tampa Bay Rays (65-55, the top wild-card team, would host the No. 5 seed Toronto in a best-of-three first-round series) They are tied with Toronto at 65-55, but hold the series edge thus far, winning six of 10 games.
• No. 5 seed — The Toronto Blue Jays (65-55, tied with the wild-card leader, but loses a tie-breaker). Toronto is 2 1/2 games clear inside the playoff picture right now, ahead of Minnesota and Baltimore.
• No. 6 seed — The Seattle Mariners (66-56, third wild-card team, would play at No. 3 seed Cleveland in a best-of-three first-round series). They are 2 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota and Baltimore as well. 

Outside looking in

• Minnesota Twins: The Twins are 62-57, and are 2.5 games behind Seattle for final wild-card spot. 
• Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are 63-58, and are 2.5 games behind Seattle for final wild-card spot. They are percentage points behind the Twins
• Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are 62-59, and are 3.5 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.
• Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are 60-62, and are six games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot. 

Too far back

• Texas Rangers (55-66, 10 1/2 games out)
• Los Angeles Angels (52-69, 13 1/2 games out)
• Kansas City Royals (49-74, 17.5 games out)
• Detroit Tigers (47-76, 19.5 games out)
• Oakland Athletics (45-77, 21 games out)