Astros move into first place tie atop AL West with shutout win vs. Mariners as Houston continues red-hot surge

You didn't count the Houston Astros out earlier this season, did you? On Friday night, the Astros beat the Seattle Mariners in their second half opener at T-Mobile Park ( HOU 3, SEA 0 ) and moved into a virtual tie for first place in the AL West. Houston is 51-46 (.5258) and percentage points ahead of the 52-47 Mariners (.5253). The two teams have two more games to play this weekend.

The Mariners shot themselves in the foot defensively Friday -- second baseman Jorge Polanco , shortstop JP Crawford , and third baseman Josh Rojas each made an error -- and the Rojas error contributed to Houston's three-run third inning. Jose Altuve drove in a run with a bunt single, and Yainer Diaz singled in two to give the Astros an early 3-0 lead against Luis Castillo .

Here is the Rojas error and Houston's go-ahead rally:

Right-hander Hunter Brown , armed with his new sinker , held the Mariners to four hits in six scoreless innings. He has a 2.55 ERA in 14 appearances since adding the sinker. Before the new pitch? A 9.78 ERA in six starts. Bryan Abreu , Ryan Pressly , and Josh Hader came out of the bullpen to close out Houston's ninth win in 14 July games.

The Astros started this season 0-4 and bottomed out at 12-24 on May 8. As recently as June 18, they were 10 games behind the Mariners in the AL West. Since that date, Houston is 18-6, the best record in baseball, while the Mariners are 8-16. That's how you erase up a 10-game deficit in a month's time.

It should be noted the second place team in the AL West is not assured a wild-card spot as a fallback plan. The Astros entered play Friday 3 1/2 games behind the third wild-card spot. There is still a lot -- A LOT -- of season to be played, but it is possible only one AL West team will make the postseason.

Despite Friday's loss, the Mariners lead the season series 5-3 over the Astros. After this weekend, the two clubs will wrap up their season series Sept. 23-25 at Minute Maid Park. That is the second-to-last series of the regular season. It could be awfully meaningful.

This weekend's three-game series continues with the middle game Saturday afternoon. Righty George Kirby (7-7, 3.29 ERA) and lefty Framber Valdez (8-5, 3.66 ERA) are the scheduled starting pitchers.