Pennant Race Roundup: Astros drop second straight to Oakland, allowing Seattle to gain a game.

Twins bang their way to a win, only putting them back by less than two games on the next closest Wild Card team

Yet again, the Houston Astros can’t manage to get over the hump of beating bad teams. This has been a consistent problem for the team, and it does not look to be getting any better.

Each day, we get closer to the end of the season and every game starts to matter more and more when it comes to the playoff race. Take a look at games around the league on Astros Daily.

Houston Astros (77-68): 4, Oakland Athletics (64-82): 5

For the second night in a row, the Astros drop a game by one to the A’s. Houston got the scoring started in the bottom of the second with RBIs from Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon to put them up 2-0.

But the A’s answered right back with two of their own in the top of the third, tying the game at two. This didn’t last long though as Houston took the lead right back in the bottom of the third and held on to that lead for the majority of the game.

It wasn’t till the sixth inning when another run crossed the board and it was curtesy of a two-run shot from Kyle McCann and an RBI single from Brent Rooker, giving Oakland a 5-3 lead.

In that same inning, Jose Altuve was taken out of the game for what was later reported to be “right side tightness”.

The A’s kept this lead for the remainder of the game, despite the Astros getting another run in the eighth on a pitch-hit RBI single from Kyle Tucker. That brought the game to its final of 5-4. With the loss, the Astros are one game closer to the Mariners for the AL West division.

Seattle Mariners (74-72): 5, San Diego Padres (82-65): 2

Thanks to the Astros loss, an M’s win would put them to within three and a half games of Houston for the division lead. They used this as motivation in their game, getting the scoring started first.

Cal Raleigh’s RBI single with one-out got the scoring started and was then followed by a two-RBI single from Luke Raley just two batters later, putting them up 3-0 quick.

They tacked on to this in the bottom of the sixth with a two-RBI double from J.P. Crawford. Those runs were matched right away in the next inning with a homer from Fernando Tatis Jr. and a single from Xander Bogaerts, putting the Padres back by three.

San Diego got one more person to reach base the rest of the game, losing the game 5-2. Both teams have another game today and the M’s have a chance to gain another game on Houston.

Minnesota Twins (78-68): 6, Los Angeles Angels (60-86): 4

With the Twins holding the last Wild Card spot in the American League, every game for them coming down the stretch is important.

After trading home runs in the first inning, the Angels took the lead off another leadoff home run in the third. This lead didn’t last though as the Twins put up a three spot in the bottom half of the fourth inning off a Willi Castro single and a Brooks Lee double, giving them a 4-2 lead.

Jordyn Adams put charge into one that left the yard in the sixth to bring the Angels to back within one, but the Twins answered right back again with two more runs off the bat of Royce Lewis to put them back up 6-3.

The Angels got one last run in the ninth, but couldn’t come back, ultimately losing 6-4. This Twins win put them half a game in front of Houston record wise, meaning if Houston were to not be winning the division currently, they wouldn’t even make the Wild Card.

Games that also matter

New York Yankees: 4, Kansas City Royals: 3

The series between these two teams will be one of the biggest and most impactful of the season so far. Currently the Yankees lead their division by one and a half games and the Royals are second in the Wild Card race by four and a half games with the Twins only a game and a half behind them. If this whole series goes this way for the Royals and the Yankees dominate them, there is a chance that the Royals could lose their position in the Wild Card race and move down to the six seed.