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Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve (27) and Isaac Paredes (15) celebrate their win over the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game Monday, July 27, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif.<\/p>\n
Scott Strazzante\/AP Photo\/Scott Strazzante<\/p>\n
Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager looks on from the dugout during a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Arlington, Texas.<\/p>\n
LM Otero\/AP Photo\/LM Otero<\/p>\n
Seattle Mariners’ Dominic Canzone walks back to the dugout after grounding out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Seattle.<\/p>\n
Lindsey Wasson\/AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson<\/p>\n
Texas Rangers’ Jacob Latz (67), Jake Burger (21), Joc Pederson, center, Nathan Eovaldi, right and the rest of the team celebrate their win against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Monday, July 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Tony Gutierrez\/AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) \u2014 The Texas Rangers have put themselves in a good position in the AL West just by having a winning record.<\/p>\n
Texas (54-52) is the only team in the division not under .500 with about one-third of the regular season remaining, and now less than a week before next Monday’s trade deadline. The Rangers have a two-game lead over in-state nemesis Houston (53-55) and are 2 1\/2 games in front of reigning division champion Seattle (52-55) after taking three of four against the Mariners.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery win matters, but I think the ones right before the deadline, there\u2019s always a little more stress … especially in a situation where you could go either way,\u201d said Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson, who homered twice in the series-ending 7-3 win over Seattle on Monday. \u201cBut I think we put ourselves in a good spot, and we\u2019ve got to continue to play like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Mariners, who last year won their first AL West title since 2001, have lost 11 of 16 games. They led for only three innings during the four games in Texas, all after a four-run seventh inning Sunday on the way to a 6-4 win, the first time in 46 games this season the Rangers lost when leading after six.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we looked at the series as if we split it, it was a failure, with where the AL West is and the AL wild card is,\u201d Texas first baseman Jake Burger said. \u201cI think we showed what type of team we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rangers won their only World Series title in 2023 after getting into the playoffs as a wild card, but last won the West in 2016. They missed the playoffs the past two seasons, when only the AL West champion made the postseason \u2014 which could very well happen again this year.<\/p>\n
Houston (53-55) won seven of the previous eight AL West titles before last season. The Astros had been in third place for a month before a four-run rally in the ninth inning Monday night gave them their sixth win in seven games, 6-4 over the last-place Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series.<\/p>\n
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Head-to-head in the West<\/p>\n
Texas has already clinched its season series \u2014 and potential tiebreaker \u2014 against the Mariners, up 7-3 with a three-game series left at Seattle in early September.<\/p>\n
The Mariners still have five games to play against Houston, but have that season series in hand by a 7-1 margin.<\/p>\n
As for the Lone Star State rivals, the Astros are 6-4 against the Rangers. They wrap up their season series with three games in Houston next weekend, after Texas plays three games at AL-best Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are guys in there that are doing whatever they can to make that second-half push, because they know what it means when you get there,\u201d first-year Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. \u201cWhatever we do, we\u2019re focused on winning to try to get in. … It\u2019s go-time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Staying on top despite injuries<\/p>\n
The Rangers have stayed in first place even with two-time World Series MVP Corey Seager missing the past 20 games because of lower back inflammation. He also was out for 19 games earlier this season because of his back, and missed another 12 following a concussion.<\/p>\n
Third baseman Josh Jung is sidelined by a left calf strain. Both of the team’s opening-day catchers, Danny Jansen (right forearm strain) and Kyle Higashioka (right flexor strain), are also on the IL.<\/p>\n
Seager had consecutive days of live batting practice and could begin a short minor league rehab assignment Tuesday. There are also questions about whether the Rangers might consider trading the 32-year-old shortstop, who is in the fifth season of his $325 million, 10-year contract.<\/p>\n
Veteran left-hander Jordan Montgomery, part of the Rangers\u2019 World Series title after being a trade-deadline acquisition that summer, is close to making his season debut, maybe in the finale at Tampa Bay. He left in free agency after the 2023 season for a deal in Arizona, then missed all of 2025 after a second elbow reconstruction surgery. He re-signed with the Rangers at the start of spring training.<\/p>\n
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