The regular season schedule absolutely did the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros a favor. The only two teams still vying for the American League West title entered the final weekend of the regular season needing to win three games against two non-playoff teams to finish the regular season with a winning record. History was on their side, too.
Since 1969, when the American and National Leagues first split into East and West divisions, no team has ever won a division with a .500 record or worse. The Minnesota Twins (76-84) handed the Rangers a painful 10-2 loss in Minneapolis on Friday, Sept. 25. Hours later, the Athletics (64-96) hung on to beat the Astros 6-5 in West Sacramento.
The Astros and Rangers are tied in the standings at 79-81. With two games to play in the regular season, the best each team can hope for is an 81-81 record. The Astros hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers, so they will move on to the postseason if the two teams finish with the same record.
More news: Phillies Suddenly Have Reason to Worry After Third Straight Loss The Rangers will try to win twice without third baseman Josh Jung, who sustained a fracture in his right hand when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning Friday. The 28-year-old finishes his season with a .299 batting average and .827 OPS. Texas will send veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound on Saturday with the season on the line.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore will follow on Sunday. The Rangers' best pitcher, Jacob deGrom, was of little help Friday, as the Rangers fell to 11-11 this month. The Astros rallied from a 6-1 deficit with a run in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth against the A's on Friday, only to go quiet in the ninth inning.
Hayden Wesneski will start for the Astros against the A's in the rematch Saturday. More news: Yankees Didn’t Pursue Obvious Trade for Surprising Reason On the line is one of two postseason spots that remains undecided headed into the final weekend of MLB's regular season. Only the AL West champion and the final NL wild-card berth are up for grabs.
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