MINNEAPOLIS — The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros both lost on Friday night and remain tied atop the AL West at 79-81 with two games left in the regular season. Texas fell 10-2 to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, and Houston lost 6-5 to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif.
Houston won the season series from Texas, 9-4, and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the two teams finish tied, the Astros win the division.
Whichever team takes the AL West will be the first in a full MLB season to reach the postseason without a winning record.
What The Texas Rangers Need To Win The AL West
Houston’s magic number to clinch the division is 2. Any combination of Astros wins and Rangers losses adding up to two gives Houston the title. The Astros can clinch on Saturday with a win over the Athletics and a Texas loss to Minnesota.
Texas has to finish one game ahead of Houston. That happens if the Rangers win both of their remaining games and the Astros lose at least one, or if the Rangers split and the Astros lose both.
The Rangers play first on Saturday. First pitch at Target Field is set for 3:10 p.m. CT, so Houston should know the result before its own game against the Athletics that night. Both teams close the regular season on Sunday, Texas in Minneapolis and Houston in West Sacramento.
The AL West winner is currently slotted as the No. 3 seed in the American League and would host a three-game Wild Card Series. That round runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
The Rangers are waiting on further tests for Josh Jung, whose X-rays showed a fracture in the fifth metacarpal of his right hand after a pitch from Joe Ryan hit him in the first inning Friday. The team planned to decide on his status after Saturday’s testing. Designated hitter Joc Pederson has been on the injured list with a fracture in his left hand since Tuesday.
Skip Schumaker, Houston Astros React To Friday’s Losses
Jacob deGrom allowed 8 earned runs over 4 innings in the Rangers’ loss, including 6 in the second inning after Texas took a 2-0 lead. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker called Saturday’s game against the Twins the biggest of the year.
“We have to. I mean, that’s the only way to do it,” Schumaker said. “With two games left, we will be obviously scoreboard watching tonight, part of the game and part of where we’re at in the season. But the important thing is to come back tomorrow and do whatever we can to fight and to try to win that game tomorrow. That’s the most important game.”
“Tough one today, no doubt about it,” Schumaker continued. “But we have to figure out a way to keep going, stay positive, and win tomorrow, and see what happens tonight.”
In West Sacramento, the Athletics scored 6 runs in the sixth inning after Jose Altuve dropped a chance at a double play, the Houston Chronicle reported. The loss guaranteed Houston a season without a winning record. Altuve said he had to be fully ready for Saturday.
“I felt terrible in the moment and right after when they scored all those runs,” Altuve said. “Not a good feeling. But somehow I’ve got to turn the page around and be 100 percent ready for tomorrow.”
Nathan Eovaldi (11-10, 4.27 ERA) starts for Texas on Saturday against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (7-6, 4.21 ERA). It will be Eovaldi’s first start since Aug. 7. Since returning from an elbow injury on Sept. 12, he has made four relief appearances and has not thrown more than 46 pitches in any of them.
