ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have put themselves in a good position in the AL West just by having a winning record.Texas (54-52) is the only team in the division not under .500 with about one-third of the regular season remaining, and now less than a week before next Monday's trade deadline. The Rangers have a two-game lead over in-state nemesis Houston (53-55) and are 2 1/2 games in front of reigning division champion Seattle (52-55) after taking three of four against the Mariners.“Every win matters, but I think the ones right before the deadline, there’s always a little more stress ... especially in a situation where you could go either way,” said Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson, who homered twice in the series-ending 7-3 win over Seattle on Monday.
“But I think we put ourselves in a good spot, and we’ve got to continue to play like that.”The Mariners, who last year won their first AL West title since 2001, have lost 11 of 16 games. They led for only three innings during the four games in Texas, all after a four-run seventh inning Sunday on the way to a 6-4 win, the first time in 46 games this season the Rangers lost when leading after six.“I think we looked at the series as if we split it, it was a failure, with where the AL West is and the AL wild card is,” Texas first baseman Jake Burger said. “I think we showed what type of team we can be.”The Rangers won their only World Series title in 2023 after getting into the playoffs as a wild card, but last won the West in 2016.
They missed the playoffs the past two seasons, when only the AL West champion made the postseason — which could very well happen again this year.Houston (53-55) won seven of the previous eight AL West titles before last season. The Astros had been in third place for a month before a four-run rally in the ninth inning Monday night gave them their sixth win in seven games, 6-4 over the last-place Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series.Head-to-head in the WestTexas has already clinched its season series — and potential tiebreaker — against the Mariners, up 7-3 with a three-game series left at Seattle in early September.The Mariners still have five games to play against Houston, but have that season series in hand by a 7-1 margin.As for the Lone Star State rivals, the Astros are 6-4 against the Rangers. They wrap up their season series with three games …
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