The Texas Rangers continue to see their chances at a winning homestand slip away.
The Rangers (70-73) found themselves on the wrong end of an extra innings loss to the Tampa Bay Rays (85-57) on Saturday, as the Rangers walked away with a 6-3 win in 10 innings.
Texas tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth inning, thanks to a solo home run by Evan Carter and an RBI double by Justin Foscue. In the 10th inning the Rays stole the game with a three-run home run by Jonathan Aranda, an outburst that Texas couldn't answer in the bottom half of the frame.
It was a rare bad night for closer Jacob Latz, who gave up the three-run shot to Aranda after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. At the plate, Texas had only six hits, but Joc Pederson hit a solo home run earlier in the game.
The Rangers had some optimism going after winning the first game of the series. But after two straight losses to Tampa Bay, plus what's happening around the rest of the American League, Texas' pursuit of a playoff berth is reaching a crisis point. The Rangers can still win the homestand, but they lost a chance to close the lead on as least one of their playoff races.
Houston Astros pitcher AJ Blubaugh. Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Astros: 73-70
Rangers: 70-73 (three games back)
Astros Magic Number to Clinch Playoff Berth: 17
Like the Rangers, the Houston Astros lost in extra innings, as they fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3. But the loss didn't hurt Houston in the race to win the American League West. In fact, because the Rangers lost, Houston's magic number dropped tonight to 17. That's a combination of Astros wins and Rangers losses.
It seems unlikely Texas will win the division at this point. With the tiebreaker, which Houston holds, the Rangers will need to win four more games than Houston down the stretch. The Rangers hit the road after facing the Rays on Sunday, a place where they have had little success of late.
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Toronto: 72-71 (tied for third wild card berth)
Cleveland: 72-71 (tied for third wild card berth)
Texas: 70-73 (2.0 games behind)
Baltimore: 69-74 (3.0 games behind)
Magic Numbers
Cleveland: 20
Texas: 20
Toronto: 20
Baltimore: 20
The Toronto Blue Jays are above .500 and have finally caught the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild card berth. In fact, if the postseason started on Sunday the Blue Jays would be in. That's due to the tiebreaker.
The defending American League champions now have a real chance to slide into the postseason as the race for this final wild card berth sputters to the finish line. The Rangers still have a chance. In fact, they have three games against Toronto later this month. Those games could be pivotal.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Rangers Magic Number: Texas Loses as AL Playoff Race Holds in Place .
