Seattle Mariners Rival Suffers Major Injury as AL West Race Continues
![Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman rounds third base against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 13 at Tropicana Field. Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman rounds third base against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 13 at Tropicana Field.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5333,h_2999,x_0,y_152/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_mariners/01j5eqqq139hxcha0g3e.jpg)
With a little more than a month left in the season — many fans are starting to scoreboard watch as several playoff spots and divisional races are looking like they might come down to just a few games.
One of those divisions is the American League West.
The Seattle Mariners trailed the Houston Astros by three games going into Friday. It's the largest margin the Mariners have trailed in the division by all season.
Houston looked to have an easy next three games with the Chicago White Sox traveling to the Astros' home of Minute Maid Park. But Houston will be without one of its key players for the series.
According to a tweet from the Athletic's Astros reporter Chandler Rome — starting third baseman Alex Bregman will be out for the entirety of the series against the White Sox with swelling in his right elbow.
Per the report from Rome — the MRI showed no structural damage. Bregman let the team know about his elbow injury after Houston's win on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“It’s not that I couldn’t play through it anymore, it’s just that I need to nip it in the bud,” Bregman said per Rome's report.
Bregman is one of the most effective hitters for Houston this season. He's batting .261 with 19 home runs and 59 RBis for the Astros.
How about a HOME RUN FOR A 4TH. STRAIGHT. DAY.
— Brian Holland (@BHollandSports) August 14, 2024
Alex Bregman with his 19th dinger of the season, helping Houston to win a 7th straight game.
Oh...and then he flashed the leather!!#LSU @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/k2CCE01X11
If there's a series or a team for Bregman to rest and recoup — it would be against Chicago. But it will be worth keeping an eye on if the injury has any lingering or more serious effects as the AL West race reaches its final stages.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
AL WEST PLAYOFF TRACKER: The Seattle Mariners are at least three games back for both first place in the American League West and the final Wild Card spot. CLICK HERE
MUNOZ'S STREAK COMES TO AN END: All-Star reliever Andres Munoz let up his first run and hit in over a month in the Seattle Mariners 2-1 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. CLICK HERE
TIGERS SWEEP MARINERS: The Detroit Tigers completed a three-game series sweep against the Seattle Mariners with a 2-1 win on Thursday. CLICK HERE
Follow Inside the Mariners on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady