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Carlos Correa's Statement Gives Daunting Outlook for Astros' New Reality

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 8:32 PM ET

The Houston Astros were feeling confident rolling into their important series against the Seattle Mariners this past weekend.

With the division race likely coming down to that three-game set, the Astros felt good about where they were considering they had just swept their in-state rival Texas Rangers and were welcoming the Mariners into a ballpark that has served as a house of horrors for them.

But the result did not match their confidence, as Seattle completely took it to Houston in a fashion that resulted in a sweep, with the Mariners not trailing for a single inning in this series to outscore the Astros by a score of 17-7.

"Not the ideal situation," manager Joe Espada said after the finale, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription required). "Not what we were wanting or expecting out of this series."

Astros Now Face Not Winning the AL West for First Time Since 2020

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Houston trails Seattle by three games in the standings. And with six contests remaining in the regular season -- barring a major collapse -- the Astros won't finish in first place in the division for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and for the first time in a full season since 2016.

That will only add fuel to the fire for those who say the American League dynasty Houston has had for the better part of the last decade is now officially over, with their AL record streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances coming to an end last year in the Wild Card round. And one simple statement made by Carlos Correa gives some credence to that, especially when it comes to the outlook of this franchise's future in the coming years.

"I think we did try our best," he said. "They were just better."

FINAL: Mariners 7, #Astros 3
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 22, 2025

While that might not seem like a lot, the Astros have not had to utter those words very often when it comes to their standing in the division. They've been the bullies for a long time, always finding a way to overcome adversity and quiet their rivals when it was needed the most.

But that didn't happen over the weekend. And it didn't happen against the Detroit Tigers in last year's Wild Card round. That's not to say Houston can't get back to the dominant level they were at from 2017-2022 when they won two World Series championships out of four trips, but it's clear they are no longer at that peak right now.

The Astros have to finish out the season strong if they are going to compete in the playoffs this year, because the sweep by the Mariners also moved them outside of the final Wild Card spot due to the Cleveland Guardians owning a tiebreaker over them.