Astros Face Big Week To Shrink AL West Magic Number

The Houston Astros finally got a game back in the American League West standings as they head home to host the Baltimore Orioles.

The Astros lost the first two games of their series with the Kansas City Royals, but on Sunday Houston defeated Kansas City, 7-1, to avoid a sweep of the three-game series.

The weekend had been about missed opportunities for the Astros, who watched both of their AL West rivals, the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners, lose on Friday and Saturday.

As the Astros won their finale with the Royals, the Rangers and the Mariners both lost their games.

So, even though the Astros went 2-4 last week, they only lost one game in the standings. They hold a 1.5 game lead over the field going into this week's homestand.

The Orioles just clinched a playoff berth on Sunday against Tampa Bay. The Astros are hoping to get a lot closer to that goal this week. They will also benefit from the fact that the Rangers and Mariners meet seven times in the final 10 games of the season, a fact that could accelerated the reduction of the Astros’ magic number to win the West.

Below is an update on the race, with the current standings, magic numbers to clinch the AL West and a Wild Card berth, along with the remaining schedules for the teams that are still in the race.

The AL West Race as of Sept. 18

Sunday’s AL West results

Cleveland 9, Texas 2

Houston 7, Kansas City 1

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Seattle 1

Standings

Houston (84-66): — (Magic Number to clinch AL West: 12)

Texas (82-67): — 1.5 GB

Seattle (81-68): — 2.5 GB

What’s Left?

Houston (12): Monday-Wednesday: vs. Baltimore (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Kansas City (3); Sept. 25-27: at Seattle (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Arizona (3)

Seattle (13): Monday-Wednesday: at Oakland (3); Friday-Sunday: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (13): Monday-Wednesday: vs. Boston (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Seattle (3); Sept. 25-27: at Los Angeles Angels (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: at Seattle (4)

AL Wild Card Race as of Sept. 17

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Sunday’s AL Wild Card results

Cleveland 9, Texas 2

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Seattle 1

Baltimore 5, Tampa Bay 4 (11 innings)

Toronto 3, Boston 2

Tampa Bay (92-59): +9.0 Games (3 to clinch top WC berth, has clinched playoff berth)

Toronto (83-67): — +0.5 (Magic Number to clinch playoff berth: 12)

Texas (82-67): — (Magic Number to clinch playoff berth: 13)

Seattle (81-68): — 1.0 Games back of final Wild Card berth

What’s Left?

Tampa Bay (11): Tuesday-Thursday: vs. Los Angeles Angels (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Toronto (3); Sept. 26-27: vs. Boston (2); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Toronto (3)

Seattle (13): Monday-Wednesday: at Oakland (3); Friday-Sunday: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (13): Monday-Wednesday: vs. Boston (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Seattle (3); Sept. 25-27: at Los Angeles Angels (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: at Seattle (4)

Toronto (12): Tuesday-Thursday: at New York Yankees (3); Friday-Sunday: at Tampa Bay (3); Sept. 26-28: vs. New York Yankees (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Tampa Bay (3)