With the season on the line, the Houston Astros went into Seattle and took two out of three from the Mariners. Dusty Baker and the 'Stros control their own destiny with three games remaining against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Wednesday's finale was giving off playoff vibes for sure, and it was touch and go for a while, with Framber Valdez pitching only 4 innings before Baker went to his bullpen.

The big news story from the game occurred in the 6th inning when Hector Neris talked some smack to Julio Rodriguez after striking out him out to end the inning.

Benches cleared, and after the game, Mariners third baseman Eduardo Suarez alleged that Neris used a homophobic slur in Spanish aimed at Rodriguez. Rodriguez left the stadium before the media was allowed in the locker room after the game.

Whether that's true or not is up for debate, Neris said he's friends with Rodriguez and said basically told him he won that matchup. Either way, the altercation seemed to give the Astros a jolt heading into the next inning.

With one out, Alex Bregman got things going with a hit to right field that Teoscar Hernandez misplayed, allowing Bregman to get to third. The Astros tacked on three runs in the inning, finally manufacturing offense to give Houston some cushion.

After that the bullpen shut the door and the club came away with the win.

Editor's note: Hector Neris released a statement Thursday denying the use of a homophobic slur:

Astros implications moving forward

Which makes us question, was this altercation the spark the team needed to go on another deep playoff run?

Plus, we have to mention Michael Brantley returning to action and recording 4 hits on Wednesday night. Could he be a key weapon moving forward for Dusty and company?

Be sure to watch the video above for the full conversation.

If you enjoy the videos, subscribe on YouTube for our latest content!

Presented by Coors Light.