Should Texas Rangers Root For Houston Astros or Seattle Mariners?

The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners begin a three-game series Monday that will have the attention of the Texas Rangers.

Naturally, fans of the Texas Rangers should be rooting for victories at the Los Angeles Angels before heading to the Seattle Mariners for a four-game set to finish the season. 

But is there a team Texas should be pulling for Monday at T-Mobile Park when the Houston Astros face off against their AL West rival? 

Actually, yes. And it's the team Texas will face in the season finale. 

Because of the tiebreaker scenario, Houston still has a chance to win its fifth division title in six seasons. The Astros hold the edge over the Rangers, winning the Silver Boot Series for the seventh consecutive season, 9-4. 

That bodes well for Houston heading into its three-game series starting Monday should the Rangers collapse down the stretch. Losses to the Mariners, however, actually hurt the Astros' chances of making the postseason altogether. 

The Mariners, who trail the Astros by a half-game, have already clinched the season series over the Astros, winning eight of 10 while outscoring Houston 53-27. Because the Astros can only finish the series 8-5 at best, Seattle would get the edge in a head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams finish with identical records.

Houston has taken a nosedive down the stretch after seemingly being favorites to win the division entering September. The Astros have lost four straight series, including five of six games in their final homestand against the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles and 102-loss Kansas City Royals. 

But why root for Seattle over Houston? Simple: tiebreaker scenarios. If the Astros and Rangers were to finish with identical records, Texas would get the short end of the stick, potentially eliminating them from the playoff picture. 

The same goes for the Rangers should they tie with the Mariners. Texas has won the series over Seattle entering its four-game series beginning Thursday, winning eight of its nine, including a three-game sweep last weekend at Globe Life Field.

Texas' magic number of five only counts towards winning the AL West. Three wins over the Shohei Ohtani-less Angels will clinch a spot in the postseason. Four victories might be enough for the AL West title if Seattle takes two of three from Houston, and splits their four-game finale with Texas. 

For Texas, winning in La La Land is the biggest priority. The next-best thing? 

Probably seeing the Mariners take second place to put the Astros at DEFCON 1 for their series against the far-from-out Arizona Diamondbacks heading into the weekend works. 

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