Houston Astros Two-Step Helps Trim Magic Number to Playoff Berth

There are two ways to trim a magic number in Major League Baseball. One way is to win. The other is for the team chasing you in the standings to lose.

The Houston Astros pulled off a two-step on Friday night that helped them inch a bit closer to claiming the American League West.

The Astros (68-67) defeated the New York Mets, 3-1, continuing their New York road trip. Hunter Brown was excellent. He claimed a victory and struck out 10 in nearly seven innings of work. Josh Hader claimed his 20th save of the season. Daulton Varsho drove in two of Houston’s three runs.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers (66-69) Ran into a buzzsaw as they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-1. The Brewers are the best team in baseball by record and they slowly, but surely, defeated the Rangers. Both events had a significant impact on Houston's magic number to clinch a playoff berth.

Astros Magic Number

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz his a baseball with his bat during a game. — Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz. Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Astros entered Friday's action with a magic number of 28. It's not hard to determine what happened after Friday's games. Each result had an impact on Houston's magic number.

The Astros trimmed the number by one with their victory and the number dropped by another game with the Rangers’ defeat. That means the Astros go into Saturday's action against the Mets with a magic number of 26 — a combination of their wins and Rangers losses. Once that number hits zero, the Astros are in the playoffs and, in this case, champions of the American League West division.

The Astros began the week behind the Rangers in the division race. Both teams are on the road this week and they're heading in opposite directions. While Houston has won three of its four games on its road trip, the Rangers are 1-3 and they're riding a three-game losing streak. Texas is also trying to stay within striking distance in the AL wild card race, where they go into Saturday's action two games back.

For Houston the week started with controversy as owner Jim Crane effectively fired general manager Dana Brown before the road trip. The press release said “parting ways” but Crane took responsibility for making the decision when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday.

His hope was that the move would light a fire underneath this team and in the short term the move seems to have worked. The Astros now have a bit of an edge on the Rangers in their race to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

All they have to do is keep winning. If the Rangers keep losing that would be a bonus.

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