Rangers, Astros Still Tied for Division Lead With 4 Games Left

ARLINGTON, TX — Despite both teams having a losing record, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are tied atop the American League West Division standings with four games remaining.

Somehow, one of these teams will almost certainly be in the playoffs next week.

Each team has a record of 78-80 after losing again Wednesday night. The Rangers have lost three in a row, while the Astros have won only three times in their last 10 games.

Fortunately for our Texas teams, the rest of the division is even worse as the Seattle Mariners are 74-84, the Athletics are 63-95 and the Los Angeles Angels are 60-98.

No team has ever made the MLB playoffs with a losing record — with the exception of the COVID-shortened 60-game season —but division winners automatically qualify for the playoffs.

If the Rangers and Astros finish tied at the end of the regular season, the Astros own the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series against their in-state rivals.

The Astros will finish the regular season with four straight games on the road against the Athletics, while the Rangers will host the Mets tonight before traveling for a three-game set at Minnesota.

Though the Rangers and Astros have been the definition of mediocre this season, these last four days should be interesting to see which team will sneak into the postseason.

Our other rooting interest lies with the Chicago White Sox, who have former San Angelo Central standout Davis Martin as one of their starting pitchers.

If the season ended today, the Astros would begin the playoffs against the White Sox, who currently have a three-game lead over the Rangers for the final wild-card spot.