The Rangers kept doing their part Tuesday, and the Astros helped make the day even better for Texas.
Texas handled the Athletics, 8-5, while Houston stumbled at home against the Chicago White Sox, falling 5-1. Put together, that was the kind of combination the Rangers needed as they keep trying to close the gap in the American League West.
The Rangers improved to 69-70, and they were in control for most of the afternoon. They built an 8-1 lead before the A’s pushed back late enough to force Texas into using Jacob Latz in a save situation. That comeback effort trimmed the margin, but it did not change the final result.
Trevor Williams, the new acquisition, had a rough outing out of the bullpen. He allowed four hits and three runs in 1.1 innings.
On the offensive side, Brandon Nimmo delivered the loudest line of the day, going 4-for-5 with a double and five RBI. Corey Seager added two doubles, while Elias Diaz and Wyatt Langford each chipped in a double as well.
Houston’s loss mattered just as much as Texas’ win. The Astros were unable to trim their magic number to clinch, while the Rangers cut theirs by two.
That’s the cleanest possible swing for Texas: every Rangers win lowers the number, and every Astros loss does too. Getting both on the same day is exactly how the Rangers can keep pressing.
The two teams are back at it Wednesday, with Texas finishing its series against the Athletics in the afternoon and Houston continuing its four-game set with the White Sox. If the Rangers win again and the Astros lose again, the divisional lead becomes a tie. Houston still owns the tiebreaker, so Texas would need to win the division outright to secure the No. 3 playoff seed.
Elsewhere in the American League picture, the Guardians have a magic number of 23 to clinch a playoff berth, according to sportsmagicnumbers.com. Cleveland picked up a win Tuesday over the Blue Jays, while Baltimore lost to the Colorado Rockies.
That number is tied to the closest team in the standings, which for now is the Rangers and the Orioles. Cleveland currently holds the final wild card spot in the AL and has been surging lately, going 8-2 over its last 10 games. That run helped the Guardians move ahead of Texas, which had held that spot at times last week.
By this weekend, Cleveland and Texas will have played the same number of games. The Guardians are in Detroit this week for a four-game series that includes a Friday doubleheader.
In Other News...
Sebastian Walcott Is Forcing A Tough Rangers Decision On Josh Jung
Sebastian Walcott has pushed his way into the Rangers thinking with a strong run at Double-A, and the organization is starting to treat his timeline like something more immediate than a distant prospect debate. A possible September arrival is now part of the conversation, which matters because Texas already has a young third baseman in Josh Jung trying to hold down the spot while working through defensive inconsistency and a recent injury absence.
Walcotts rise puts the Rangers in a familiar but difficult spot: keep waiting on Jung to settle in, or start thinking about a roster reshuffle if the top prospect is ready to force the issue. If Texas decides the bat and energy Walcott brings can help sooner rather than later, Jung could become a trade candidate as the club looks to fill other needs. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Fans Have A New Reason To Watch Sebastian Walcott Closely
Sebastian Walcott has already given Rangers fans plenty to monitor at Double-A Frisco, and the top prospect is backing up the buzz with a hot stretch at the plate. He has homered in three straight games and is riding a seven-game hitting streak, adding more evidence that his bat is translating quickly as he continues to move through the system.
Walcotts comeback makes the watch even more interesting because he is doing this after an internal brace procedure for a UCL tear, and he may be nearing a return to fielding duties soon. Through 30 games this season, the Rangers No. 1 prospect is hitting .319 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs, a line that only sharpens the anticipation around what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
St. Thomas Aquinas Opponent Is Now Pushing Back After Viral Backlash
The season opener between DeSoto High School and St. Thomas Aquinas was supposed to be about football, but it became a bigger conversation when three of DeSotos four captains declined to shake hands with the opposing players before kickoff. The moment, caught on live television, spread quickly and drew widespread criticism, turning a standard pregame routine into the kind of scene that lingers well beyond one Friday night.
DeSotos football program moved quickly to address it, issuing an apology and taking responsibility for the captains actions while framing the incident as a learning opportunity. On the field, St. Thomas Aquinas handled its business with a 38-14 win, but the aftereffects of the handshake moment are still what people are talking about, and now the reaction is becoming part of the story too. [Read more 🡒]