The AL West race tightened right back up Tuesday night, and Yordan Alvarez was at the center of it.
Houston handled its own business with a 7-0 win in Seattle, then got the extra boost it needed when the New York Mets knocked off the Texas Rangers 6-3. Put those together, and the Astros woke up Wednesday tied with Texas for first place at 78-79 with five games left.
Alvarez powered the night with his 41st home run and three RBIs, giving Houston exactly the kind of clean, controlled win that matters this time of year. The Astros never had to sweat out a one-run finish or lean on a late-inning rescue act. They grabbed control early, held the Mariners scoreless and kept the pressure off a pitching staff that would have been asked to grind through another tense finish.
That matters in a race this tight. A shutout doesn’t just show up in the standings; it can save energy, save arms and keep a team from spending another night in survival mode.
The tie at the top doesn’t settle anything, though. If the two clubs finish with the same record, MLB’s head-to-head tiebreaking rules come into play.
There would not be a Game 163, so the season series still looms large. But Wednesday’s identical records alone do not hand the division to either side.
Both teams still have work to do. Houston remains in Seattle on Wednesday before finishing with the Athletics.
Texas goes back home to face the Mets again, then closes at Minnesota. There’s no shortcut here, and neither team can count on the rest of the schedule to break its way.
What makes the whole thing even stranger is the record itself: both clubs are still below .500. But that doesn’t make the division any less meaningful. It just means every missed chance lands harder, and every win carries more weight.
For Houston, Tuesday was the ideal answer after slipping behind. Alvarez delivered the punch, the pitching delivered the shutout and Texas took a loss. The Astros can’t repeat the help from the Mets, but they do get to start Wednesday with the race back in their hands.
In Other News...
Marcus Semien Still Has Strong Feelings About His Rangers Exit
Marcus Semien is still looking back at his Rangers run with appreciation, even after a stretch in which the numbers were not always in his favor. The veteran infielder admitted his final two seasons in Texas did not go the way he wanted statistically, but he also made clear that his time with the club carried plenty of meaning, from the long-term commitment he signed before the 2022 season to the championship payoff that followed.
Semien said he remains proud of what he helped build in Arlington, especially his role in the Rangers 2023 World Series title, and his connection to the area has not disappeared even after the offseason trade to the Mets. He still lives in the Dallas area, which says plenty about how closely his life stayed tied to the franchise and the city, even as his on-field future moved in a new direction. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Just Got Late-Inning Help Back At The Perfect Time
The Rangers got a little healthier in the bullpen on Saturday, activating right-hander Peyton Gray from the 15-day injured list and sending Adam Macko to Triple-A Round Rock. Gray had been sidelined since Aug. 31 with right elbow inflammation, and his return gives Texas another late-inning arm as the club moves deeper into the stretch run.
Macko, acquired at the trade deadline, had appeared in eight games and carried a 6.00 ERA before the Rangers decided to option him out. For a team trying to line up its relief mix with the playoffs approaching, Grays timing matters, and Texas will be hoping he can settle back in quickly after the layoff. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Just Made The AL West Race Even More Nerve-Racking
The Rangers had a chance to keep a little separation in the AL West, but a 6-3 loss to the Mets instead tightened the screws on a race that already had no margin for error. MacKenzie Gore gave Texas an encouraging start, and Nathan Eovaldi helped bridge the middle of the game, but the bullpen could not hold it together long enough to protect the lead and steady the night.
Now the standings are where the Rangers least wanted them to be, with Texas still a half-game ahead of Houston and just five games left to play. Winning the division means finishing in front of the Astros, and after this loss, every inning from here on out carries the kind of weight that turns a tense stretch run into something far more nerve-racking. [Read more 🡒]