So they would get to rest Monday, while the Astros and Rangers play an elimination game. The Astros have been an interesting team to watch all year, but a late collapse could knock them out of the playoffs all together. The Astros are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 29-46 on the road, and they have a half of a game lead on the Angels in the AL wildcard standings. For game one in Seattle the Astros start Lance McCullers who has allowed 96 hits and 41 earned runs while striking out 116 over 114.2 innings for a 5-7 record and a 3.22 ERA.
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The Minnesota Twins, who next trail the Houston Astros, have been on and off through the month, in contrast. The club could still even win the AL West; just 2 1/2 games separate them, the Rangers and the Angels.
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That, just a few days after the Rangers had taken a 4 1/2-game lead over Houston with a series-opening win on Friday at Minute Maid Park. First, they’re up against Seattle for 3 games beginning Monday, after which they’ve an inter-league match-up against the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. The Rangers had a four game series in Detroit during mid-August where they took three of four. Think about this: if the Twins win all their remaining games and the Angels win five straight, Minnesota will edge Texas for the final wild-card spot. Texas will try to keep its edge today, sending Yovani Gallardo (12-11, 3.42) against the Tigers’ Matt Boyd (1-5, 6.91). “There’s nothing safe in baseball”, Texas manager Jeff Banister said. Among all the teams in playoff contention this year, the Royals may be the hungriest crew due to their World Series loss last year. Hopefully first place in the division -and the fate of our Rangers- is decided before then. “You’ve got to continue to play”. I’m pretty sure Jon Daniels thought so too, and ownership was anxious about Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder, Jurickson Profar, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Elvis Andrus, Leonys Martin, Neftali Feliz, Martin Perez, catcher, left field, the bullpen and…what am I missing? “That’s what you have to do as a team”. Having contending AL playing the final week without their full roster is the biggest drawback to 15-team leagues that require an interleague game every day…. That would nearly definitely means a date with the Yankees in New York, possible on Wednesday the seventh, in what can be one insane little bit of pre-playoff… The Rangers are in the drivers seat of the AL West and hold the keys to their own destiny and making the postseason, now they just have to find a way to finish the race before running out of gas.
