Rangers fans' Astros trash talk aging terribly as Houston pulls away in AL West

After ending up on the losing end of the Lone Star rivalry with the Texas Rangers last season, the Houston Astros are having the last laugh.

The Rangers edged Houston in seven games in last year's American League Championship series to end the Astros' repeat title bid before going on to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the World Series.

The Astros have won the American League West title in six of the last seven seasons, and they look primed to do it again this year with a five-game lead over the Seattle Mariners. Meanwhile, the defending World Series champions haven't led their division since early May, and have since been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Rangers fans' Astros trash talk aging terribly as Houston pulls away in AL West

The Astros and the Rangers have followed very different trajectories this season. The Rangers exploded out of the gate and sat at or near the top of the division for the first six weeks of the season. They have since cooled off considerably, due in large part to several key players suffering injuries and others failing to match their offensive production from last season.

The Astros, meanwhile, got off to an abysmal start. They were 7-19 to begin the season, but have since surged back to their rightful place atop the AL West standings. The return of key pieces such as Kyle Tucker from the injured list, as well as a key addition to the rotation at the trade deadline in Yusei Kikuchi, have helped to keep them on an upward trajectory as they surge toward the postseason.

The 2023 World Series championship campaign is beginning to look like more of an anomaly than anything for the Rangers, who will finish their season below .500 for the seventh time in the last eight years.

Regardless of the Astros' ultimate fate in the playoffs, at least they will have made it there. That's more than the Rangers can say, and the Texas fans who have been trolling their in-state rivals ever since last year's ALCS will now be forced to eat crow.

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