Western United States: The situation is troubling

Inevitably, one team will be crowned the American League West champion by the end of this weekend, but the question is: which team—the Rangers or the Astros—is more hungry right now?

Yesterday, both teams lost, and the Rangers took a real beating on top of that. Let's just say baseball isn't exactly king in Texas right now. The Astros have lost five of their last seven games, while the Rangers are also struggling to win on a consistent basis.

The weakness in the American League West indirectly highlights the Seattle Mariners' poor performance in 2026—a team that came very close to eliminating the Blue Jays last year in the league finals. The Mariners have struggled in Seattle this season, and there are several reasons for this turnaround.

By default—or nearly so—one of these two teams will win the division and host the opening round of the playoffs. Let's just say this situation stands in stark contrast to what's happening in the National League right now.

For the first time in Major League history, a team will win its division with a record of .500 or worse.

The winner of the AL West will either be 81-81 or 80-82. First time in MLB history. Gross!!!

— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) September 26, 2026

With two games left to play, whichever team performs better (and that's putting it mildly) will win its division, while the other will be eliminated. Right now, with identical records, the Astros hold the advantage, though the Rangers could very well finish ahead of them. It remains to be seen what the mood is like in both locker rooms at this point in the season when the stakes are so high.

It won't be pretty, but one of these two teams will continue playing after the regular season ends and might even pull off an upset early in the upcoming playoffs. Who knows?

On Friday, the Astros lost 6-5 to the Athletics, while the Rangers (with Jacob deGrom on the mound) were routed 10-2 by the Twins in Minnesota.

The Rangers' ace has had a so-so season, posting an 11-11 record in 2026. Yesterday, facing a very average offense, the right-hander pitched four innings while allowing eight earned runs. Number 48 gave up eight hits to the Twins' batters, in addition to walking three of them.

Luke Keaschall, who recorded four hits in yesterday's game, hit a double and a triple off deGrom. Kody Clemens also had a strong outing, driving in three runs for his team.

Meanwhile, Joe Espada's team was unable to capitalize on the first game of a three-game series against the A's in Sacramento to pull away from their opponents. The Athletics scored no fewer than six runs in the sixth inning alone to come away with the win.

Relieving starter Hunter Brown, relievers Bennett Sousa and AJ Blubaugh were unable to get the job done, allowing the home team to score all their runs. It's a loss that stings for the Astros.

By late tomorrow, we'll have a clearer picture of this disappointing race for first place in the equally disappointing American League West division.

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