Texas Rangers Big Favorites to Win American League West
The Texas Rangers are once again the odds-on favorite to win the American League West.
Thanks to four-game winning streak – and a timely skid by the Houston Astros – the Rangers have a 60.1% chance, according to FanGraphs, to lock down the division and the likely No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. The top two seeds receive first-round byes.
Texas (86-68) opened up a 1.5-game lead over the Astros (85-70) in the West after beating the Seattle Mariners (84-70) 2-0 on Saturday night. Houston, meanwhile, has lost two straight to the lowly Kansas City Royals at home to cough up the West lead.
Adolis Garcia and the streaking Rangers have a 90% chance of making the playoffs.
The Rangers have an overall 90.1% probability of reaching the postseason. Houston’s odds of winning the West and making the playoffs are 24.5% and 69.7%, respectively. Seattle has just a 15.4% chance of claiming the division and 48.9% playoff shot.
Texas is in control of its playoff fate with eight games left in the regular season.
Three of the six AL playoff spots are locked up. The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays will occupy the AL East title (and No. 1 seed) and top Wild Card. The AL Central-champion Minnesota Twins are the probable No. 3 seed.
The Toronto Blue Jays (86-69) are second in the Wild Card standings and own 91.4% postseason odds. Houston sits third with Seattle a half-game back.
The Rangers also clinched the season series (7-1) and tiebreaker over Seattle, which sits two games back in the division. Texas and the Mariners finish a three-game series at Globe Life Field on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. The two clubs also face off four times in Seattle starting Thursday.
The Rangers also own tiebreaker over Toronto. The Astros hold it over Texas. The Blue Jays have it over Houston.
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