ARLINGTON -- Major League Baseball’s next Home Run Derby isn’t for another 10 months, but on Sunday at the site where it will reside next summer, it sure felt like the premier power event was center stage. And unfortunately for the Mariners, they were the victim of a banner day for the Rangers in a 9-8 loss at Globe Life Field that completed a three-game sweep.

The Mariners clawed their way back after trailing by as many as five runs in the fourth and four in the sixth, putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with two outs in the eighth and then the tying run on second base in the ninth.

All weekend, they had at least the tying run at the plate for the final at-bat.

• Games remaining (7): vs. HOU (3), vs. TEX (4)
• Standings update: The Mariners (84-71) fell three games behind the Rangers (87-68) for first place in the AL West. They remained a half-game back of second-place Houston (85-71) after the Astros lost. But Toronto won, which pushed Seattle to 2 1/2 games back of the second AL Wild Card spot. The Astros hold the third and final spot, making the Mariners the first team on the outside looking in.
• Tiebreakers: Win vs. Houston (8-2); lose vs. Texas (1-8); likely win vs. Toronto (3-3, tiebreaker based on intradivision record).

“I feel like we stayed in the fight the whole game,” Julio Rodríguez said. “It didn't go our way. But we stayed in the fight. That's when we're at our best, when we're not giving it up.”

One of Texas’ big blasts proved to be a particularly costly difference, especially given that the liner from Marcus Semien caromed off Rodríguez’s glove at the top of the center-field wall and went over for a solo shot in the fourth.

“I barely could see it, and then I literally just kind of covered my face a little bit,” Rodríguez said. “And it's just unlucky that it just kind of hit my glove and went over the fence. But you cannot blame [this weekend] all to luck. We’ve got to show up and control what we can control.”

Such seemed to be the stakes this weekend for the Mariners, who led only once over the three-game series -- on Sunday, when J.P. Crawford hit a solo shot in the third -- and were within striking distance throughout. But Texas’ high-powered offense regularly built a sizable-enough cushion to hang on, and as such, the Rangers took a three-game lead over Seattle atop the American League West with one week remaining.

The Mariners also homered on Sunday, but only twice and both via solo shots, as Teoscar Hernández went deep in the second before Crawford in the third. Seattle entered the day 61-10 when out-hitting its opponent -- and did so on Sunday, 13 to eight -- but the Rangers produced more with their contact.

Bryan Woo surrendered four of the deep flies before his day was done, then Gabe Speier gave up another after immediately taking over for the rookie with one out in the fourth. And Eduardo Bazardo gave up a two-run blast in the sixth. Rodríguez’s play at the wall stood out, but they were all decisive.

The six homers were a season high for one of the best offenses in baseball, and they fell one shy of the most in MLB this year (seven), which has been achieved six times.

“In that spot, in that environment, [Woo] was in attack,” manager Scott Servais said. “He was getting after him, he made some mistakes. They've got a really good offensive team, and in this ballpark, they can do some damage.”

Seattle’s rallies were more methodical.

In the seventh, Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh walked, then Hernández, Jarred Kelenic and Eugenio Suárez singled -- all with two outs -- to plate three. In the sixth, the Mariners loaded the bases with no outs then manufactured two runs via outs (a fielder’s choice from Kelenic and a sac fly from Suárez), before pinch-hitter Sam Haggerty ripped an RBI triple into the left-field corner.

“We've got to be able to move on from it, because we're still there. We're still here,” Rodríguez said. “We've still got a chance, and we're here for a reason.”

At this time of year, it’s hard to take solace in defeat, especially as the Mariners finished 0-6 in Arlington and 43-38 overall away from T-Mobile Park. Their bid to win their first division title since 2001 took a gut punch this weekend. And while their postseason hopes are not lost, they are steering toward a more perilous point after dropping the first three games of this 10-game sprint to the finish.

Their saving grace is that the Astros were also swept on Sunday against last-place Kansas City, which kept Houston’s edge over Seattle at just a half-game going into the two teams’ three-game series beginning Monday at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners tumbled to 2 1/2 games back of the second AL Wild Card spot as the Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay, making Seattle’s clearest path to October via the final seed.

Seattle’s postseason odds from FanGraphs are at 44.3%, the lowest among the AL teams still in the race, and their division title odds are at 6.6%.