Texas Rangers Challenged by Astros, Mariners in Tight Division Race

The Texas Rangers still lead the American League West, but the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners have made it a three-team race.

ARLINGTON, Texas — From the start of this season, the Texas Rangers wanted to play competitive baseball down the stretch.

That part of the mission certainly seems accomplished. The Rangers (72-52) have led the American League West nearly every day this summer.

But the Rangers have not been living under any illusions that the race to claim the division would be easy. Far from it.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said they’ve always expected it to be a tight race. And it’s here.

“We came into this knowing what a very good division this was,” Bochy said. “You have a World Series champion (Houston Astros) in this division. There’s no let up. We know our job is to keep coming out here and try to win ball games, and that’s the only way we look at it.”

The Rangers, on a four-game losing streak, go into Monday’s game with Arizona just 2.5 games ahead of the Astros (70-55). At one time earlier this season the Astros were buried with injuries and nearly 10 games back.

Now, the Astros are about as healthy as they expect to be, with one more potential reinforcement — outfielder Michael Brantley — on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land.

As late as Aug. 2, the Astros had the Rangers’ lead down to a half-game. The Rangers held them off in part because of their torrid start to the month. The Rangers won 10 of their first 11 games after the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

But the Astros only lost three games in the standings and got one back with a win on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins, the same night the Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers entered last weekend 2.5 games ahead of Houston.

The Rangers were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in a series that ended on Sunday. That would have been a prime opportunity for the Astros to make up ground.

But the Astros remained 2,5 games back, and that’s the other variable as the AL West race unfolds.

The Seattle Mariners (69-55) swept the Astros and are now just three games back of the Rangers in third place. Thanks to a six-game winning streak the Mariners have gone from 7.5 behind to 3.0 games back in a week.

While the Rangers head on the road to face the Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets, the Astros are preparing for seven of their next 10 games against the surging Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, the Mariners’ next four series are against the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics and the Mets. All have losing records.

Bochy knows his team is in a trough right now. He likened the Rangers’ sweep at the hands of the Brewers as something similar to being swept by the Cincinnati Reds back in April. That sweep cut the Rangers’ lead to a half-game, and a loss to the Yankees the next day put Texas in a tie for first place.

After that, the Rangers won four straight and eight of their next 10 to right the ship.

Bochy hopes the road trip yields a similar result.

“Sometimes you get humbled in a series like this,” Bochy said. “It’s all about putting that behind you and bouncing back. Hitting the road, this long road trip, we need to clean it up.”

The Rangers were not running away with the division, but the race is now the tightest it’s been since May. With approximately 40 games to go for each team, three contenders are approaching the finishing stretch from three distinct points of view.

The Astros are trying to defend their World Series title and win their sixth AL West title in seven seasons.

The Mariners are trying to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2000-01.

The Rangers are just trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since winning the AL West in 2016.

And, if the season ended before Monday’s games, all three teams would be in the playoffs.

But while the Rangers only have three more games left against the Astros, they have seven left against the Mariners, which come in the final 10 games of the season. The last four games are in Seattle.

For the Mariners, in between a three-game series with the Rangers on Sept. 22-24 at Globe Life Field and the Sept. 28-Oct. 1 finale with the Rangers in Seattle, there is a three-game series with the Astros in Seattle.

In other words, nothing is decided yet — just as Bochy expected.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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