Rangers Playoff Magic Numbers Turns Tragic in Loss to Red Sox

At minimum, the Texas Rangers wanted to remain in a tie for first place in the American League West. Well, that's not how things went Thursday night.

A three-run home run by Boston's Trevor Story in the top of the eighth inning off the normally reliable Jacob Latz helped lift the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. With it went the Rangers’ hold on the American League West lead as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals earlier in the day.

Also, with it — Texas hopes temporarily — went their magic number to clinch a playoff berth.

AL West Magic Number Update

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada walks to the dugout. — Houston Astros manager Joe Espada. Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Astros (77-76) hold a one-game lead over the Rangers (76-77) in the AL West going into Friday’s action. Houston now has a magic number of nine to clinch a playoff berth, which is a combination of Astros wins and Rangers losses. For those interested, Texas has a magic number of 10. But for Texas it is really 11 to win the division since Houston has the tiebreaker. So the Rangers have a number, but it only matters if they’re in the lead.

The Rangers will host the Toronto Blue Jays for three games while the Astros will host the Atlanta Braves for three games.

With nine games remaining for both teams, the Astros could simply win out and win the division. That seems unlikely. The Astros have slumped a bit of late. Before taking two out of three from Kansas City, the Astros were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays on the road last weekend. The Braves lead the NL East, which pits them against a comparable opponent and should lead to a compelling series.

The Rangers don't control their own destiny. The only thing they can do at this point is win as many games as possible. Normally, taking two out of three from the Red Sox, a team that is on the precipice of clinching a wild card berth, would be a positive. But with so few games left in the season the Rangers can ill afford a loss, especially in combination with an Astros victory.

Texas can still claim a wild card berth but those fortunate changed dramatically on Thursday. The AL Central lead is back in a tie between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians fell back into the final wild card berth.

But the loss dropped the Rangers two games behind the Guardians for the final wild card berth. They're also tied with the Blue Jays two games back. So this weekend series takes on even more gravity. The Blue Jays don't have a pathway to a division title. The defending AL champions only pathway to the postseason is that final wild card berth.

That's why this weekend's action may finally decide whether the Rangers are contenders or pretenders for a playoff berth.

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