All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, the Texas Rangers control their own destiny.
They enter the final week of the MLB regular season holding the lead in the AL West Division in the Houston Astros.
There are still six games left for each team to play, but the Rangers kind of snuck up on everyone.
All season long, they sort of lingered, with the Astros making the run at a division title in a quintet of mediocre records. Everyone kind of expected the Seattle Mariners to eventually make a push, too, but that never came.
And now there the Rangers are, in a spot that all they have to do is keep winning.
Rangers Standings AL West
With six games to play, the Rangers have a 78-78 record. That has them in the lead of the AL West Division by 1.0 game.
The Astros are right behind with a 77-79 record.
And if we want to be mathematically correct, the Mariners aren’t officially eliminated. They’re 5.0-games back with six to play at 73-83.
Rangers Schedule
The Rangers will begin their final playoff surge with three home games beginning Tuesday night as the New York Mets come to town.
Texas then hits the road to try and finish the job. They play on Friday evening, then Saturday and Sunday afternoon, in Minnesota against the Twins.
Neither the Mets nor the Twins are going to the playoffs, so much more will be on the line for the Rangers.
How Rangers Clinch Playoff Spot
The simplest path for the Rangers is this: If they win the AL West, they’re into the playoffs.
Their one-game lead over the Astros means they control their own destiny. If the Rangers win all their remaining games, they’re in the dance no matter what Houston does.
Unfortunately for Texas, Houston does hold the tiebreaker thanks to the season series. That means the Rangers have to at least match the Astros in record the rest of the way. If Houston outdoes Texas by even a game, they’ll get in thanks to the tiebreaker.
Texas also technically has a path to an AL Wild Card spot, but they’re two-games back of the Chicago White Sox entering the final week. If the Rangers don’t play well enough to hold off the Astros, it’s unlikely that they’d still have done enough to leapfrog Chicago.
For what it’s worth, the Astros begin the final week in Seattle to take on the Mariners for three games. They then head down to Sacramento to close the regular season against the Athletics.
There’s still plenty of drama to come in the American League West Division.
How Rangers Can Make Playoffs in AL West Standings