Texas Rangers, Astros, Mariners Tied for Division Lead

The Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros awoke Wednesday to find themselves atop of the division. Together.

The Rangers and Mariners are both 75-57, while Houston is 76-58. Seattle moved into sole possession of first on Sunday but lost Tuesday night to the Oakland Athletics. Texas and Houston both won.

The Rangers scrapped out a 2-1 victory at the New York Mets. Texas is 3-1 since its eight-game losing streak, with its last three games decided by one run.

“We’re playing well in close games,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “The last two days that’s what we need to do because I think we’re going to play in a lot of them, so this is great experience for them.”

The Rangers have beaten New York by one run in each of the first two games of the series, with the finale Wednesday at 5:40 p.m. Dane Dunning (9-6, 3.36) is on the mound as Texas looks for its first sweep since finishing one off against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 6.

As for the division race, the three-way tie just further amplifies the sense of urgency for each game. The three contenders could go from first to third on any given night depending on each outcome.

Just two days ago, the Mariners were considered the favorite to win the West, per FanGraphs. Houston edged ahead on Monday and now owns a nearly 50% chance (48.9) to claim the division. Seattle has dropped back to 28.9% and Texas is up to 22.3%.

The playoff odds fall in the same order – Astros (93.1%), Mariners (84.4%) and Rangers (77.4%).

Head-to-head play will also be crucial with about a month of games left. The Rangers face the Astros three more times (Sept. 4-6 in Arlington) and Seattle seven times in the last 10 games (Sept. 22-24 in Arlington and Sept. 28-Oct. 1 on the road). The Mariners host Houston in one more series (Sept. 25-27).

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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