Seattle Mariners Rival Suffers Major Injury as AL West Race Continues

The Seattle Mariners American League West rival Houston Astros lost third baseman Alex Bregman for the weekend's series against the Chicago White Sox with an elbow injury.
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. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
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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.

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.

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Teren Kowatsch

TEREN KOWATSCH