The Houston Astros are fighting for their playoff lives, but there are some key players who could determine just how far they can go.

While the Seattle Mariners have already clinched the AL West, and the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays have locked in playoff spots, the rest of the field remains fairly up in the air. As the Cleveland Guardians vie for the AL Central, two spots are available among them, the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros.

With the season on the line, Astros left-hander Framber Valdez delivered in the clutch Thursday afternoon, with some help from an offense that finally started showing signs of urgency. Valdez, who had won one game in his previous 10 starts,

We’ve figured out every one of the tiebreakers that could still be in play (hopefully), including for a possible four-way tie in the AL.

The Houston Astros have had one of the most disappointing September collapses in the MLB, and there’s a lot of people to blame. However, one stands out more than the rest. According to Fansided's Zachary Rotman, Astros ace Framber Valdez is the biggest reason for Houston’s collapse.

The Astros are in grave danger of missing the playoffs entirely, and these six players deserve a majority of the blame.

The Red Sox are on a collision course for a matchup with the either the Yankees or the Blue Jays in the wild-card round.

Houston Astros starter Hunter Brown and manager Joe Espada discussed a potential season finale start on Friday as the postseason looms.

The winner of the Central battle is locked into the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs, and will host a best-of-three Wild Card series next week. The loser could still feasibly finish as high as the No. 5 seed or fall out of the playoffs entirely, depending on other Wild Card machinations (more on that in a minute).