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The Houston Astros have been extremely up and down over the last week plus. Getting swept by the Yankees was a low point for sure, but Houston roared back to sweep the Rangers to put Texas' playoff hopes in grave danger. The Astros got annihilated in the first game of their series against the Padres, but bounced back last night thanks to a big fifth inning against San Diego.
That is a lot of words to say that while Houston has seemingly been all over the place lately, they are still making progress towards their goal of making the playoffs and hopefully secure yet another division crown.
Houston Astros Magic Number
As of 9/10, the Astros have a 1.5 game lead in the American League West over the Seattle Mariners. The Texas Rangers are three games back as they continue to punt away the 2023 season against all odds. It is looking more and more likely that the Rangers might not even make the playoffs.
For the last few days, the Astros have managed to shrink their magic number over the Mariners to 19 to win the AL West. Note that this doesn't account for tiebreakers and all of that, so that is worth keeping in mind. The Angels look like they are the next team that will be eliminated from the division race with 5 being their magic number for elimination.
As for a potential wild card berth, Houston's magic number is 14 to secure a spot in the playoffs if they don't win the division. That race is still pretty messy, but Toronto's hot streak of late has provided a bit of clarity to that last wild card spot. One way or another, it seems like only one AL West team will get a wild card slot with Texas on the outside looking in at the moment.