Rangers Have Magic Number to Win AL West with 10 Games Remaining

Since Aug. 25 the Texas Rangers have been in chase mode in the American League West. On Wednesday night the chase bore fruit.

As the Rangers defeated the Boston Red Sox, 7-3, to get back to .500 for the season, the Houston Astros lost to the Kansas City Royals, 5-2. Both Texas and Houston are 76-76 and tied for the AL West lead with 10 games remaining.

That means the Rangers now have a magic number to clinch the division title — with a caveat.

That magic number is now 11, per sportsmagicnumbers.com. That’s a combination of Rangers wins and Astros losses needed to clinch a playoff berth. But, since the Astros hold the tiebreaker with the Rangers for the division, the adjusted magic number should be 12, since Texas needs to be one game clear of Houston to win the division.

The Rangers’ Magic Number Chase

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager hits a single with his bat. — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is hard-won progress for Texas. The Rangers last held the division lead on Aug. 24, a half-game over the Astros. The next day they lost to the Chicago White Sox and had been behind for nearly a month.

The past week has qualified as a surge for Texas. The Rangers fell three games back of the Astros after a loss to Arizona on Friday. Since then, Texas has won four straight games while the Astros were swept by Tampa Bay last weekend and split their first two games with the Royals. That surge has created the dead heat in the race to win the division.

The win also moved the Rangers within one game of the final AL wild card berth, but the complexion of that race has changed, too. For the last few weeks Texas was chasing the Cleveland Guardians. But, on Wednesday, the Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox and took the lead in the AL Central. Now, it’s the White Sox that hold the final wild card berth.

That could be a problem for Texas if it isn’t able to win the division. With the Guardians holding the spot the Rangers had an edge — they held the head-to-head tiebreaker. With the White Sox holding the final spot, it’s the White Sox that hold the tiebreaker.

Texas would much rather win the division because it comes with a home playoff series in the AL wild card round. If the Rangers claim the No. 3 seed, they host a best-of-three wild card series that starts the Tuesday after the regular season ends. When the Rangers won the World Series in 2023, they had to start the wild card round on the road at Tampa Bay.

It worked out for Texas that time around. But considering how good the Rangers have been at home this season, they would much rather start the postseason at Globe Life Field.

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