The relentless pursuit of an American League West division title is going to be a day-to-day grind for the Houston Astros until the end of the season.
The Astros wrap up a three-game series with the San Diego Padres on Sunday, as the contest will be the final game of the day and will be broadcast on NBC as part of the Sunday Night Baseball package.
The good news for the Astros is that they got to scoreboard watch a little bit to see if their primary pursuers in the division, the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners, won or lost on Sunday afternoon.
But with the margins so tight, one win here or there in the short term matters little. Houston (60-58) entered Sunday's action with a half-game lead over the Rangers, who got back over .500 with a win over Baltimore on Saturday.
The Mariners were four games back. The rest of the division is out of the race. It's three teams for what could be one spot in the playoffs, depending upon how the AL wild card race shakes out. For now, the Rangers have an edge there, but it's thin.
The Padres (61-57) are fighting too. They're in third place in the NL West and just one game outside of the final NL Wild Card berth. After the two teams split the first two games of the series, it's time to decide who claims the series victory.
Cristian Javier (1-2, 6.59) starts for Houston against San Diego's Randy Vasquez (7-6,4.19)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
SS Jeremy Pena
DH Yordan Alvarez (L)
3B Isaac Paredes
2B Jose Altuve
RF Taylor Trammell (L)
1B Christian Walker
CF Daulton Varsho (L)
C Yainer Diaz
LF LaMonte Wade Jr. (L)
After Sunday's game, the Astros stay on the west coast to begin a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants on Monday at Oracle Park. Once that set is done, the Astros get a much-needed day off on Thursday. Then Houston gets an opportunity to put the Mariners away.
Seattle comes to town for a three-game series beginning on Friday. After that, Houston gets three games at home with the Los Angeles Angels from Aug. 18-20 and three more with the Athletics from August 21-23.
That nine-game stretch might allow the Astros to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division - or allow the race to tighten as September nears.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Astros Set Batting Order as Cristian Javier Chases Win Against Padres .
