Rangers Magic Number Countdown to Playoff Berth Hits Final Week

The Texas Rangers have six games remaining in the regular season. Here is their path to the playoffs via their magic number.

Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texas Rangers could have taken control of the American League West on Sunday. But the Toronto Blue Jays proved uncooperative.

The Blue Jays won the game, 7-2. The Rangers (77-77) dropped back to .500 for the season. A 4-2 start to a nine-game homestand should make the Rangers happy. But they let Thursday’s game against Boston slip away and that would leave them closer to making the playoffs.

There was also a missed opportunity on Sunday. Down south in Houston, the Astros (77-79) were swept by the Atlanta Braves. The Rangers magic number to clinch a playoff berth did change. It's now six. And with six games remaining it's easy to chart a course for the Rangers to win the AL West.

How Rangers Can Win AL West

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The magic number is calculated by the number of Rangers wins and the number of Astros losses needed to clinch a playoff berth. With the Astros now three games behind the final AL wild card berth it seems unlikely either team will get to the postseason that way. The AL West crown is the only legitimate path both the Rangers and the Astros have now.

So how does this work? The math is simple now. The Rangers could clinch the American League West as early as Thursday, when they wrap up a series with the New York Mets. Here's how.

If the Rangers sweep the three-game series, they will have 81 wins. If the Astros lose the first three games of their road trip — two games at Seattle and one in Sacramento against the Athletics — they will be stuck at 77 wins. That takes the magic number to zero. It also means that with three games remaining for both teams that Houston can’t catch Texas.

The Rangers probably won't sweep the Mets. But let's say Texas holds to form and takes two out of three games from New York. That trims the magic number four. Then combine that with two Houston losses in its first three games on the road trip. That trims the magic number to two as the Rangers head to Minnesota to face the Twins on Friday.

As good as the Rangers have been at home this season, they've been bad on the road. Their series win at Arizona last weekend was their first road series win since July 1.

Texas shouldn't leave this to chance. They shouldn't be working to win two games in Minnesota. Winning two at home makes the Rangers path to winning the AL West a manageable one. They can’t do anything about the Astros — who have lost seven of their last 10 games. But unlike the last two months, the Rangers control their own destiny.