HOUSTON -- The Astros ran the gamut of emotions for 3 hours and 6 minutes Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. It began with concern when slugger Yordan Alvarez left with a knee injury in the third inning, shifted to despair when their bullpen was tagged for seven late runs and ended with relief when they learned that the Rangers had rallied to beat the Mariners.

What it all means is that after having their three-game winning streak snapped with a 9-8 loss to the Angels, the Astros can clinch their seventh American League West title in the past eight seasons with one win over the second-place Mariners, who come to Houston on Monday five games out with six games remaining.

¡°We¡¯ve just got to take care of our business,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°Yordan is not great. That¡¯s not what you want right now, but we just got to get ready for [Monday].¡±

Alvarez, who started the game in left field and was 2-for-2, was removed from the game with a right knee contusion following a hard slide into second base. Espada said Alvarez was undergoing some imaging tests Sunday to find out the extent of the injury.

Alvarez slid into second base on a double and was clearly in some discomfort when he stood up. He bent over at the waist and was massaging his right knee before hobbling off the field.

¡°Not what I wanted to see when I ran out there,¡± Espada said. ¡°It¡¯s pretty sore. Just when he slid, his weight on the knee and just the way it handled. ¡­ Hopefully we get some good news here.¡±

Alvarez underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in August 2020 after suffering knee problems the first two years of his career. He had a slight tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee, which was repaired, and he hasn¡¯t had any major knee issues since. Still, the Astros have tried to limit his exposure to the outfield as a precaution.

Alvarez went 4-for-5 with a home run and a double in Saturday¡¯s win, combining with teammate Kyle Tucker, who also had four hits and a homer, to lead a 20-hit night. The Astros lost Tucker to a shin fracture June 3 and didn¡¯t get him back in the lineup until Sept. 6, so losing Alvarez would mean the Astros are once again short-handed on offense.

¡°Obviously, he¡¯s one of the best in the world,¡± third baseman Alex Bregman said of Alvarez.

The Astros didn¡¯t have much trouble scoring runs with Alvarez out of the game.

Jose Altuve led off the fifth inning with a homer -- giving him his first 20-homer, 20-steal season since 2017 -- and Bregman swatted his 25th homer later in the inning to put Houston ahead, 4-0. Angels shortstop Zach Neto took over the game by hitting a pair of homers, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning off Bryan Abreu, and gave Los Angeles the lead for good when he hit a three-run double in the ninth off Josh Hader.

¡°Part of the game, man,¡± Espada said.

The Astros¡¯ bullpen gave up seven runs and seven hits in three innings, with H¨¦ctor Neris allowing a pair of runs while getting one out and Hader suffering his fourth blown save. Espada also had to go to his bullpen an inning earlier than he wanted to because starter Spencer Arrighetti had a cramp in his calf after the sixth inning.

¡°I want to give us a chance to win, and I think I accomplished that goal for the most part,¡± said Arrighetti, who gave up two runs and struck out six batters while throwing 78 pitches. ¡°Baseball is a crazy game, and that was an extra-crazy game. I think overall I feel like I executed pretty well across the board.¡±

As the Rangers were walking off the Mariners 250 miles north in Arlington, the Astros nearly mounted a rally of their own in the ninth. Houston got RBI singles from Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini and had the tying run at third base when Jeremy Pe?a struck out to end the game.

¡°Not quitting until the last out of the game. That fight, that¡¯s what it¡¯s all about,¡± Espada said. ¡°One swing away from winning that game. I give credit to those boys, man. They fight to the end.¡±

Now the Astros can only hope they get to continue the fight with Alvarez in their lineup.