ARLINGTON, Texas — The Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 7-0 on Tuesday night and pulled back into a tie with the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. Texas lost 6-3 to the New York Mets at Globe Life Field.
Both teams are 78-79 with five games left. Houston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, and the Astros were still playing in Seattle when the Rangers’ game ended.
“It’s about us and it’s about what we do out there,” first baseman Jake Burger said. “I don’t think we should focus on any other team other than what we did tonight. To be completely frank, it was bad showing on multiple fronts. So just flush it, move on tomorrow. We have five games left. They have [five] games left. We just go out there and play our game.”
“Obviously, it sucks,” Burger continued. “We wanted to win this game, but can’t really dwell on it anymore. I’ll put my head down on the pillow and focus on tomorrow.”
How The Rangers And Astros Got Here
Texas gained four games on Houston after Sept. 12. On Sept. 16, Nathan Eovaldi threw 4 scoreless innings in a 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, and a Houston loss that night pulled the teams even. A 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 19 gave Texas sole possession of first place.
That lead lasted three days. The Rangers have spent 51 days this season with at least a share of first place. The Astros and Rangers do not meet again this season.
Burger’s double pump on a foul popup let a Mets run score in the sixth inning Tuesday. Right fielder Brandon Nimmo was charged with the only Texas error.
“It’s terrible,” Burger explained. “Obviously, our pitchers are giving us a chance every night, and we got to pick them up. Can’t expect to win the division when we’re playing like that, on three obviously separate occasions, in my opinion.”
“It sucks. It’s behind us, though,” Burger continued. “We got to flush it and focus on tomorrow. I don’t think that’s who we are.”
Remaining Schedules For The Rangers And Astros
Texas plays the Mets again Wednesday and Thursday at Globe Life Field, then finishes the regular season with three games against the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25-27. Houston is in Seattle this week for its final meeting with the Mariners.
The Rangers have not named starters for Wednesday or Thursday. President of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday that Jacob deGrom will pitch one of the final games, and Cal Quantrill went to the 60-day injured list Tuesday with a right lat strain.
Wednesday’s game starts at 7:05 p.m. CT. Rookie right-hander Nolan McLean (11-10, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to start for New York.
