Rangers, Astros go separate ways as stretch run to playoffs approaches in AL West

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas manager Bruce Bochy and the Rangers won’t see the rival Houston Astros again this regular season.

The defending World Series champions have some work to do for a chance at a Lone Star rematch from the 2023 AL Championship Series, which Texas won in seven games before beating Arizona for the title.

There’s no guarantee for the Astros, either.

Houston (59-55), which has made seven consecutive trips the ALCS, and Seattle are essentially even atop the AL West with the Rangers 5 1/2 games back in a division unlikely to produce a wild card.

The Rangers and Astros won’t play in September for the first time since 2018, which means the Texas rivalry will have to play out on scoreboards every night.

Both teams will be on the East Coast this weekend, the Astros in Boston and the Rangers at the New York Yankees in three-game sets starting Friday night.

“Why do you need to look at a scoreboard when you need to win games?” Bochy said. “It’s not going to matter if we don’t start taking series and winning ballgames.”

Texas (54-61) let another series get away after winning the opener against the Astros this week. Houston evened the series with a 4-2 victory when Framber Valdez lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning on Corey Seager’s two-run homer.

A 6-4 victory in the finale gave the Astros a 7-6 edge in the season series, the eighth consecutive time Houston has won the Silver Boot trophy. It had a practical application last year when the Astros held the tiebreaker and avoided the wild card after Texas and Houston finished 90-72.

“It’s definitely going to be a scoreboard thing,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We know that they will fight to the end. Two veteran clubs competing for a division, so I expect them to be in the race until the end.”

The Rangers were within a game of .500 after a four-game sweep of the White Sox that was part of Chicago’s AL record-tying 21-game losing streak.

Since then, Texas is 3-9 and stuck in the middle of a 22-game stretch against seven playoff contenders, six of which currently have winning records.

“We have a lot of players who have been around for a while,” All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien said. “Pitching staffs have a good idea how to attack us, and if they execute, it may be hard to go on a 10-game win streak. We need to find a way to restart and take advantage if teams do make mistakes. That’s how we can get back into it.”

The Rangers haven’t been in first place since mid-May, as opposed to last year when they led for all but one day into late August and lost at Seattle on the final day of the regular season with a chance win the AL West outright.

Texas then set a major league record by going 11-0 on the road in the postseason, which might give the Rangers the feeling that the road to the AL pennant still goes through them despite playing from behind.

“I think it helps a lot, but we also were kind of in the driver’s seat for the division for the majority of the season instead of playing from behind,” Nathaniel Lowe said. “So we’re going to have to play from behind and make up some ground here.”

The Astros have been without star right-hander Justin Verlander most of the season, most recently because of neck discomfort. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is starting a rehab assignment Saturday.

All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker has been out two months since fouling a ball off his shin, and Houston has been vague about his recovery.

The Rangers are still waiting for the return of ace Jacob deGrom, the two-time NL Cy Young winner who had right elbow surgery in June last year. Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer has been limited to eight starts by back and nerve issues and is on the injured list with right arm fatigue.

Josh Jung, the AL All-Star starter at third base for Texas as a rookie last year, just returned after missing three months with a broken wrist. Evan Carter was a top AL Rookie of the Year candidate before a lumbar sprain in his back sidelined the 21-year-old in late May. The injury ended up costing him the season.

With less than 50 games remaining, reinforcements are welcome, but far from a guarantee of making any difference.

“We’ve got a find a way to get on a roll,” the Rangers’ Bochy said. “We’ve been saying that. And how that’s going to happen is pitch a little better and swing the bats a little better. This team has it in them. I still believe that. And you just have to keep believing, too.”

Even with time beginning to run out for the defending champs.