Zach Cole hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, Jose Altuve hit his 25th homer of the season and the Houston Astros routed the Atlanta Braves 11-3.

The Seattle Mariners had been gradually shrinking the gap in the American League West, and in a Thursday night thriller, they finally caught the Astros (79-68). Fans can certainly point to injuries, as Houston has been without impactful contributors for large stretches of the season, but the lineup is also underachieving.

There are some tighter races in the American League. The Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros are neck-and-neck as they fight for the NL West title, and there's a logjam in the AL wild card race behind the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays lead the AL Central and East, respectively.

After a brutal 6-0 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays (84-62) on Thursday night, the Houston Astros (79-68) lost their lead in the American League West standing

Here are MLB magic numbers, remaining schedules and tiebreakers for contenders through Thursday, Sept. 11, along with playoff matchups if Wild Card Series began Friday, Sept. 12

A first-inning miscue that saw a catchable ball drop in shallow right field was a sign of how the series finale against the Blue Jays would go on Thursday afternoon. With Toronto already up by one run in the bottom of the first,

Cole's first MLB stint officially begins Friday, as the outfielder had his contract selected. The 25-year-old slashed .353/.459/.745 with five home runs and three stolen bases in 15 games with Sugar Land. With Yordan Alvarez, Jake Meyers and Jesus Sanchez healthy, Cole doesn't have a direct path to playing time.

The MLB playoffs are coming fast, and there are battles for the final wild card spots in both the American and National League that could get some more clarity