Astros and Rangers: Looking Back on Their Dramatic Playoff Races

The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers are locked in a tight division battle as the season winds down to the final month and a half.

Entering Sunday night's game, the lead for the Astros sits at 1.5 games over their division rival. The Astros joined the Rangers in the AL West 14 seasons ago in 2013. Looking back, how have they each competed from this point of the season onward when competing for the title?

Houston has had the recent success outside of the one postseason series in 2023, but the Rangers seemed to win the tight races at the beginning of their time as division rivals.

Over the last 11 seasons, the two teams have won nine division titles only interrupted by the Mariners in 2025 and the Athletics in 2020.

Recent Toss-Up Division Races

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) tries to turn two. — Sep 17, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) : Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last season, the Mariners won the AL West for their first division title since 2001. Despite the Astros holding a division on Aug. 9 with the Rangers trailing by five games, Houston faltered down the stretch finishing three games back while the Rangers finished nine games back.

In 2024, the Rangers were fresh off a World Series title but were not the same team as 2023. On Aug. 9, they were 5.5 back of Seattle and Houston who were tied at the top. The Astros would go on to win the division with the Rangers finishing 10.5 back.

The 2023 season was one of the tightest division races between the Astros and Rangers. The Rangers had a two-game lead on Aug. 9 before the Astros rallied, including winning the tiebreaker decided by season series between the two clubs. They wound up tied in the standings at the end of the year with Houston winning the division but the Rangers winning their ALCS matchup en route to their first World Series title.

2017-2022 Astros Dominance

The 2017-2022 seasons were not competitive between the two teams. The Astros led the Rangers on Aug. 9 each of the six seasons and would make the playoffs in each year with the Rangers missing the playoffs.

Houston won two thirds of the games between the two with a 70-35 record. In 2020, Aug. 9 fell just 14 games into the pandemic shortened season and the Astros had a one-half lead over Texas, but the Angels were up 4.5 games in the AL West race. The Angels would fall off making way for the Athletics to win the division.

Rangers WIn the Tight 2015-16 Races

In 2016, the Rangers led the Astros by 6.5 games and would won their most recent Silver Boot that season. Texas had a dominating 15-4 record in the series in 2016 and would win the division before getting eliminated by the Blue Jays in the ALDS for the second straight year.

The first year of a competitive race between the two franchises was 2015. Houston led by 1.5 over Texas on Aug. 9 but couldn’t hold the lead. The Rangers benefitted from a 13-6 record in the season series. Texas won the division by two games taking the lead on Sept. 15 and never looked back. Houston had an opportunity to tie for the division lead with a three-game set trailing by 3.0 games on Sep. 25 at home, but the Rangers would take two of three and coast to the division title.

The 2013 and 2014 seasons were the Astros' first in the AL West but neither team was good enough to win in 2014, while the Astros were historically bad in 2013. The trend shows the Astros to winning the race in the last few years but a few of the most competitive races went to the Rangers in the early years as division rivals.

The Astros and Rangers don’t play again this season, so it’ll be a race defined by how the two teams do against the weaker teams on their schedules.

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