Astros and Mariners beware! Here come the Rangers -

Don’t look now, but the Texas Rangers are the hottest team in baseball. It has been a season of unpredictability for Bruce Bochy’s team. They led the division for over 30 days earlier in the year but also found themselves down in fourth spot in the division as recently as mid-July.

The Houston Astros remain the class act of the AL West, seemingly able to overcome any injury, and boy, have they had injuries this year.

Although they still enjoy a healthy three-game lead over the Seattle Mariners, Fangraphs’ playoff odds show the Astros as the least likely of the six current division winners to progress to the playoffs. Ok, they are still projected with a 90% chance, but that is still far lower than the other division leaders who are almost guaranteed October baseball.

As mentioned in the Welcome to The Show article, I have switched my allegiance for the rest of the 2025 season to Harry Ford’s Seattle Mariners, but both my Mariners and George Martin’s Astros need to watch out for the Texas Rangers.

Currently, the Rangers are enjoying a six-game win streak and have only lost once in their last 10 games.

Last night (Monday 1 September), Texas fought back from a dreadful start that saw Patrick Corbin allow three home runs in the first two innings.

A game-tying drive from Wyatt Langford emphasised that the 23-year-old is one of the most exciting players in the sport, but the Diamondbacks clawed back their advantage and took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning.

With one out, Jake Burger, fresh off the IL, delivered a run-scoring triple, and it was that hustle from the big guy that put the game-tying run just 90 feet away.

Rookie Cody Freeman, a fourth-round pick from the 2019 draft, was the last-gasp opportunity for Texas. In only his 15th big league game, the 24-year-old was down to his last strike before a line drive allowed Burger to send the game into extra innings.

Another rookie, Alejandro Osuna delivered the hit in the 10th inning that would prove game-winning, when his drive ricocheted off pitcher Juan Burgos. One run scored easily and an umpire review ruled that Ezequiel Durán’s explosive burst for the plate had scored a second.

Texas looked tenacious. They were dynamic. They are resilient.

Analytical minds within the baseballsphere dispute the existence of momentum as a positive asset for a team, but perhaps it should be reclassified as confidence. The Rangers are confident. They are riding a wave of assurance, knowing that they can win any game from any position.

The Rangers face the Diamondbacks twice more in this series, ahead of the mouth-watering clash against their state and division rivals from Houston, starting on Friday.

This will be the first of two series between the Rangers and Astros in the next 16 days. In theory, the Rangers’ destiny is in their own hands. In practice, it’s not quite that straighforward.

My unwavering Britishness which ignores overwhelming odds to root for the underdog, makes me want to see Rangers make life very difficult for the Astros.

But then I remember that the Mariners are my new favourite team.

AL WEST (after Monday’s games 1 September)

	W	L	GB	Make Playoffs
Astros	76	62	0.0	90%
Mariners	73	65	3.0	81%
Rangers	72	67	4.5	19%

What do you reckon? Who is taking the AL West – Houston, Seattle, Texas? Could the Astros crumble under the pressure and miss the playoffs? Let us know in the comments or on social media.

Featured image of Cody Freeman and Josh Smith by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Gav has quit Twitter X but occasionally posts on Instagram, or you can contact him via Bat Flips & Nerds website and social media platforms. Want to write for us and share your baseball opinions with an audience of 10,000+? Click on the “Write for us” link above.