Houston Astros Lose But AL West Magic Number Falls, Too

The Houston Astros let one slip away from them on Monday night, falling to the Baltimore Orioles, 8-7.

But, the Astros got an assist from the Texas Rangers — and the Rangers got some company in the form of the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers lost to Boston, 4-2, robbing the Rangers of a chance to cut into the Astros’ slim divisional lead, which remains 1.5 games. But, with the Rangers’ loss, the Astros were able to trim their magic number to clinch the American League West by one game.

Note that the Astros can clinch a playoff berth sooner, but winning the division comes with the likely benefit of getting the No. 2 playoff seed and with a bye to the division playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, which means the Rangers and Mariners are tied 1.5 games behind the Astros. Given that the Rangers and Mariners play each other in seven of their last 10 games of the season, the Astros will likely get some help from the pair when it comes to their AL West magic number.

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. 19

Monday’s AL West results

Boston 4, Texas 2

Baltimore 8, Houston 7

Seattle 5, Oakland 0

Standings

Houston (84-67): — (Magic Number to clinch AL West: 11)

Texas (82-68): — 1.5 GB

Seattle (82-68): — 1.5 GB

What’s Left?

Houston (11): Tuesday-Wednesday: vs. Baltimore (2); Friday-Sunday: vs. Kansas City (3); Sept. 25-27: at Seattle (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Arizona (3)

Seattle (12): Tuesday-Wednesday: at Oakland (2); Friday-Sunday: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (12): Tuesday-Wednesday: vs. Boston (2); 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. 19

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Monday’s AL Wild Card results

Boston 4, Texas 2

Seattle 5, Oakland 0

Tampa Bay, idle

Toronto, idle

Standings

Tampa Bay (92-59): +9.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch top Wild Card berth: 3)*

Toronto (83-67): — +1.0 (Magic Number to clinch: 12)

Texas (82-68): — (Magic Number to clinch: 13)

Seattle (82-68): — (Magic Number to clinch: 13)

*-Clinched playoff berth; seeding still TBA

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 (12): Tuesday-Wednesday: at Oakland (2); Friday-Sunday: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (12): Tuesday-Wednesday: vs. Boston (2); 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)