Who will win the AL West? Astros, Rangers stumble toward division title
· Yahoo Sports
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It has been no secret across Major League Baseball how bad the American League West has been this year, but it has made for a fun race between both Texas teams as the Rangers and Astros try to limp their way into winning what has been one of worst divisions in the history of the MLB.
With both teams sitting within one game of each other with just six games left to play, how can each team win the division?
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Astros (77-79)
As for the Astros' chances to win the AL West, they have to finish with the same or better record than the Rangers.
The Astros are currently one game below the Rangers in the division, but have the head-to-head advantage against Texas, going 9-4 in 13 games against the Rangers this season. This means if both teams finish the season with the same record, Houston will have the edge over the Rangers and win the AL West.
Astros remaining schedule:
- Mariners (two games, 73-83)
- Athletics (four games, 61-95)
The Astros are currently reeling a bit after having a three game lead in first place earlier this month. After getting swept by the Rays, the Astros took two of three from the Royals before getting swept again this past weekend by the Braves.
Things may seem to be looking up with the familiar Mariners and Athletics on the horizon, but both have played well against the Astros this season despite having losing records overall.
Houston has just a 2-9 record against Seattle and a 4-5 record against the Athletics this season. Houston will also be without star shortstop Carlos Correa for the remainder of the season after it was reported he was trying to make a comeback before the season was over.
Rangers (78-78)
Even though the Rangers lost the Silver Boot Series to the Astros, going 4-9 against Houston this season, they currently sit in the driver's seat with a one-game lead over the Astros in the AL West.
Rangers remaining schedule:
- Mets (three games, 71-85)
- Twins (three games, 73-83)
The Rangers have been playing good baseball recently, winning their last three series against the Diamondbacks, Red Sox and Blue Jays on their way to now being in first place. Texas has also gotten healthier, getting third-basemen Josh Jung and pitcher Nathan Eovaldi back from the injured list.
As for their remaining two opponents, a lot is unknown.
This season, the Rangers are 0-3 against the Twins and have not played the Mets. The Rangers have played .500 baseball all season, so it is fair to assume they could go 3-3 in these games.
This would make them the first team in MLB history to go 81-81 in back-to-back seasons. If they were to go 81-81 and win the division, they would be the worst team in MLB history to ever make the playoffs through 162 games, beating the 82-80 record the 2005 Padres had to get into the playoffs.
Funny enough, the Rangers currently hold the title of being the worst team to win a division in a non-162 game season. They went 52-62 in 1994, winning the AL West due to MLB players going on strike. There was no postseason or World Series that season due to the strike.
Things are simple for Texas to win the division, they just have to keep their current one game lead over Houston to secure their first AL West title since 2016.
Wild Card
Even if either team doesn't win the division, the AL West runner-up does have an outside chance to still make the postseason as a Wild Card team.
Currently, the Wild Card race is more competitive than the division race in the AL West, with the Astros being three games behind the White Sox for the final spot in the Wild Card. The Blue Jays are also three games behind the White Sox for the final spot. With multiple teams in the mix and it being a harder path to winning the final Wild Card spot, both Texas and Houston's best chance to get into the playoffs is to win the division.
The Astros and Rangers will start their second-to-last series on Tuesday as they make a final push to try and win the AL West.
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