Texas Rangers Fall Behind Toronto Blue Jays, Still Favored to Make Playoffs

A three-game losing streak dropped the Texas Rangers behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card hunt.

All that heavy lifting that the Texas Rangers did north of the border was squandered in an Ohio weekend.

The Rangers surged 2.5 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays after a four-game sweep that appeared to turn Texas’ postseason fortunes around. Three days later, the Blue Jays were looking down at the Rangers again.

Now what the Rangers are in the third Wild Card spot, their playoff odds have fallen to 71.4%, according to FanGraphs. They were nearly at 90% after Texas left Toronto for a three-game series at the Cleveland Guardians.

The Texas Rangers came up short in three straight games at Cleveland / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers (82-67) lost all three, falling a half-game back of second-place Toronto (83-67) in the Wild Card hunt.

“It’s a humbling game at times,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Last series, we couldn’t do anything wrong. We played so well. This series, we didn’t do a lot right.”

Texas scored just six runs in the Cleveland after pummeling the Blue Jays for 35 runs.

“That’s not going to work,” Bochy added. “We’re a team that needs to put some runs on the board and we had a tough time doing it in this series.”

The Blue Jays (83-67) now have a 78.7% chance to claim a Wild Card berth. The first Wild Card berth has already been locked up by the Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays after Texas lost 9-2 on Sunday.

The Seattle Mariners (81-68) have a 52.7% shot of making the playoffs. The American League West crown is still in play for the Rangers and Mariners. The division-leading Houston Astros (84-66) remain the West favorites at 74.2%. Seattle’s division odds are 14.4%, with Texas at 11.4%.

The Rangers, Astros and Mariners all start series on Monday.

The Rangers open a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox in Arlington. Houston plays hold to the Orioles, while Seattle is at the lowly Oakland Athletics. Texas and the Mariners open a series Friday at Glove Life Field.

The complete AL playoff picture is available here.

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