Houston Astros Start Weekend In Tight Race in AL West

The Houston Astros know where they stand in the American League West race as they start a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

The heat is on, to say the least. While the Astros (83-64) were off on Thursday, the Texas Rangers were busy wrapping up a four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, bolstering their AL Wild Card standing but also trimming Houston’s lead to just one-half game going into the weekend.

With 15 games left, the Astros’ magic number to clinch the division is actually larger — 16. Right now, that’s a combination of Astros wins and Rangers losses.

As long as the Astros can win, they can trim that number down.

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. 15

Thursday’s AL West results

Houston, idle

Seattle, idle

Texas 9, Toronto 2

Standings

Houston (83-64): — (Magic Number to clinch AL West: 16)

Texas (82-64): — 0.5 GB

Seattle (81-65): — 1.5 GB

What’s Left?

Houston (15): Friday-Sunday: at Kansas City (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. Baltimore (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Kansas City (3); Sept. 25-27: at Seattle (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Arizona (3)

Seattle (16): Friday-Sunday: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3); Sept. 18-20: at Oakland (3); Sept. 22-24: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (16): Friday-Sunday: at Cleveland (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. Boston (3); Sept. 22-24: 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. 15

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Thursday AL Wild Card results

Texas 9, Toronto 2

Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 3

Seattle, idle

Tampa Bay (91-57): +9.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch playoff berth: 5)

Texas (82-64): — +1.0 (Magic Number to clinch playoff berth: 14)

Seattle (81-65): — (Magic Number to clinch playoff berth: 15)

Toronto (80-67): — 1.5 GB of final Wild Card spot

What’s Left?

Tampa Bay (14): Friday-Sunday: at Baltimore (3); Sept. 19-21: vs. Los Angeles Angels (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Toronto (3); Sept. 26-27: vs. Boston (2); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Toronto (3)

Seattle (16): Friday-Sunday: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3); Sept. 18-20: at Oakland (3); Sept. 22-24: at Texas (3); Sept. 25-27: vs. Houston (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: vs. Texas (4)

Texas (16): Friday-Sunday: at Cleveland (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. Boston (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Seattle (3); Sept. 25-27: at Los Angeles Angels (3); Sept. 28-Oct. 1: at Seattle (4)

Toronto (15): Friday-Sunday: vs. Boston (3); Sept. 19-21: at New York Yankees (3); Sept. 22-24: at Tampa Bay (3); Sept. 26-28: vs. New York Yankees (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Tampa Bay (3)