Astros Chasing Down Texas Rangers In AL West
The Texas Rangers have owned the American League West all season and should go into the All-Star break in first place.
Should.
The division race is just that now, as the hard-charging Houston Astros (49-38) are just 2.0 games behind the Rangers (51-36) with four games left before the Midsummer Classic. That’s the closest any team has been to Texas since late May.
The Astros were two games back of the Rangers on May 28. They’re there again thanks to a four-game winning streak that started with two wins in Arlington. Houston won three of four over the holiday weekend at Globe Life Field to narrow the gap and followed that up with back-to-back wins over the Colorado Rockies.
In just the last 10 games, the Astros have made up four games. Houston is 8-2 in that span, while the Rangers are 4-6.
The Rangers are coming off a 4-2 loss at the Boston Red Sox, but have a chance to win the series Thursday night. Three games follow at the Washington Nationals before MLB pauses for the festivities in Seattle.
The Astros have a four-game set at home within the division against the Seattle Mariners starting on Thursday.
Texas, just 4-8 since June 24, needs to win at least two of the next four to assure no worse than a tie for first in the AL West at the break.
On June 23 after a win at the New York Yankees, the Rangers had a season-best 6.5-game lead in the division. Texas has had sole possession of first place in the West for 59 straight days, 66 of 67 and
79 of the last 81 days beginning April 14. The Rangers have been alone or tied atop the division for 94 of the season’s first 95 days with the exception of April 8.
But it’s suddenly a race again and the defending champs are closing fast. The Astros have won the division in five of the last six years and aren’t about to just give up their crown.
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