Ranking the Remaining 3 AL West Contenders Schedules
The Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers are in a dogfight to capture the AL West crown. How do their schedules match up down the stretch?
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Below, we’ll look at each team’s remaining schedules on September 8:
Houston Astros (80-61)
Remaining Opponents: Baltimore (x3), Seattle (x3), Arizona (x3), Oakland (x3), Kansas City (x6), San Diego (x3)
Odds to Win AL West: -250
Entering action on September 8, the Houston Astros hold a slim half-game lead over the Seattle Mariners for the AL West’s top spot. Even with such a slight lead, the Astros have a juiced price tag at -250 to capture the division crown. As the Astros have gotten healthier, they’ve continued to stockpile victories, and there’s a solid case to be made that they have the easiest remaining schedule of three contenders. Baltimore and Seattle can present challenges, but besides those series, Houston has nine games against lackluster squads in Kansas City and Oakland.
Seattle Mariners (79-61)
Remaining Opponents: Los Angeles Dodgers (x3), Tampa Bay (x3), Houston (x3), Texas (x7), Oakland (x3), Los Angeles Angels (x3)
Odds to Win AL West: +220
The Seattle Mariners have been playing some high-end baseball over the last two months, and despite cooling off of late, they remain a viable threat to capture the AL West. What the M’s don’t have going for them over their final 22 games is their schedule. Seattle has to go up against Texas seven times, in addition to a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. Thirteen of their remaining 22 games are against some of the top teams, which has to be concerning for their AL West hopes. Still, with how Texas has played lately, this could be a blessing for Seattle. Overall, it’s still hard to say that the Mariners don’t have the most challenging remaining schedule of the three teams. That might not be bad, but it makes it more difficult to buy into their division odds.
Texas Rangers (76-63)
Remaining Opponents: Seattle (x7), Toronto (x4), Boston (x3), Oakland (x3), Los Angeles Angels (x3), Cleveland (x3)
Odds to Win AL West: +1200
To say it’s been a significant struggle lately for the Texas Rangers would be a colossal understatement. The Rangers picked a devastating time of the year to go through their worst stretch and are now outside the playoff picture. The Rangers aren’t out of the race yet, even after getting swept by the Astros. Texas has seven games remaining against the Mariners and four vs. Toronto, which will play a heavy role in deciding the American League wild-card picture. The Rangers have put themselves in a hole, but there’s no denying they have the talent to dig out of it. Of the three AL West contenders, the Rangers sit second in their remaining strength of schedule.
All odds courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook.