For the first time this season, the Texas Rangers are on a five-game losing streak. That says a lot about their beautiful countryside.
Yesterday the club lost to Arizona in extra innings despite Jordan Montgomery’s fine outing. This had the effect of allowing the Astros and Mariners to come together.
At what point?
When you look at the table at the moment, you realize that the three clubs are two games maximum from the top of the division.
The Rangers, who were swept away by Milwaukee this weekend, are still on top, but that could all change quickly.
After all, the Astros are pushing to make the playoffs, too. They are 1.5 games behind the Rangers after yesterday’s win over the Boston Red Sox.
And the Mariners have won their last seven games – including a sweep against Houston this weekend. The club continued to win despite losing their closer Paul Sewald at Deadline.
Result? If the playoffs were to start today, all three clubs would be in the playoffs…and the Los Angeles Angels (who are nine games behind the Seattle Mariners) would, once again, be home.
What’s interesting is that the club that wins the division will probably get a bye to avoid second-best games.
The winner of the division should indeed finish ahead of the Twins (or the Guardians) at the end of the season.
Everywhere else, in the other five divisions, no club is less than two games from the top. But out west, there are two wannabes, which is going to make for a pretty wild ride.
Note that it is still early to exclude the Blue Jays (one game) and the Red Sox (four games) from the playoffs, but the two Texas clubs and the Mariners could all make the playoffs. To be continued.
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