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The Houston Astros' playoff hopes are not dead, but they're on life support. Houston failed to grab a much-needed victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, and face a near impossible situation. The Astros need to win their final two games and hope that one of the two AL Central contenders falter over the weekend.
Both the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians lost on Friday evening, which is the only saving grace for the Astros at the moment. The Red Sox punched their ticket to the postseason with a walk-off win over the Tigers, eliminating any chance of Houston leapfrogging Boston.
According to FanGraphs, the Astros' playoff odds sit at an ominous 15.9% with two games to play. That number feels incredibly generous given the dire straits the Astros find themselves in at the moment. Not only are Houston fans hoping their team is able to win the final two games of the season, but they now have to do the unthinkable and root for their sworn enemy — the Texas Rangers.
Desperate Astros fans turn to the unthinkable and root for the Rangers
The Red Sox's victory on Friday night almost assuredly means that Boston will take their foot off the gas during the final two games of the series. The Red Sox are locked into the No. 5 seed in the AL playoff bracket and have nothing to play for. That's good news for Tigers fans who've watched their team's utter collapse over the past month. But a win on Saturday or Sunday gets Detroit into the postseason.
The Guardians, on the other hand, face the Rangers over the weekend. Texas already did Houston a solid on Friday night by upending the Guardians 7-3. Astros fans will be cheering on their AL West rival over the next two days, because unless both the Rangers and Red Sox sweep their opponents this weekend, it's game over in Houston.
This is far from the ideal scenario, but Houston's playoff hopes are now tied how the Tigers and Guardians fare this weekend. But that's not the only piece of the puzzle — Houston has to win too. If the Astros drop another game to the Halos this weekend, what happens elsewhere is meaningless.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, Astros fans. Go Rangers!