Story by
Yordan Alvarez puts Astros level with Rangers in AL West race
- Story by
- Yordan Alvarez puts Astros level with Rangers in AL West race
Yordan Alvarez puts Astros level with Rangers in AL West race originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Houston Astros woke up Wednesday tied for first place in the American League West. One night earlier, that outcome still required help. Houston did its part with a 7-0 victory at Seattle on Tuesday. Yordan Alvarez hit his 41st home run and drove in three runs. The New York Mets then supplied the other half of the equation by beating the Texas Rangers 6-3. The result: the Astros and Rangers both stand at 78-79 with five games remaining.
Advertisement
With the results from Tuesday night, the current standings show the clubs are now tied. What had looked like an opportunity for Texas to protect its lead instead became a reset with barely a week left in the season.
Alvarez's performance is particularly significant because Houston did not have to scrape out a one-run game. The Astros took control in Seattle and kept the Mariners off the board. At this stage, a comfortable win does more than change the standings. It avoids the exhausting late-inning scramble that can tax a pitching staff during consecutive games.
Why a tie is not the whole story
Finishing with the same record would bring MLB's head-to-head tiebreaking procedures into play; it would not produce a separate Game 163. That makes the clubs' season series important, but it would be premature to assign the division based solely on Wednesday morning's identical records.
The remaining schedule is still demanding. Houston stays in Seattle on Wednesday before finishing against the Athletics . Texas hosts the Mets again before closing at Minnesota . Neither team can assume its opponent will cooperate simply because the race matters more to the Astros or Rangers.
Advertisement
MORE: MLB insider accuses Shohei Ohtani of misleading Dodgers about injury issues
One of the teams gets to the postseason
There is a striking wrinkle in the standings: both teams remain under .500. That does not make the division title any less valuable. It does make every missed chance feel heavier. A club that reaches 83 wins would need to take all five remaining games; either team could also claim the West with fewer if the other stumbles.
For Houston, Tuesday offered the best possible response to losing ground. Alvarez supplied star power, the pitching delivered a shutout and the Rangers lost. The Astros cannot bank Tuesday's help twice. They can, however, enter Wednesday knowing the race is back in their hands as well as Texas'.
Advertisement
