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The Houston Astros are leading the AL West division but aren’t fully in the clear yet. The Astros will have to fight off the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics down the stretch. Still, it will take a lot for either of those teams to jump Houston for first place and steal the division crown with so few games left in the regular season. Here we’re going to be tracking the Astros magic number to clinch the division crown.
Houston Astros magic number: 3
Saturday p.m., Sept. 25 — The Astros have lost two straight to Oakland while Seattle won on Friday. Houston’s magic number remains 3 for now.
Friday, Sept. 24 — The Astros really chipped into their magic number thanks to the Mariners, who swept the A’s in four games this week. Now, the Astros will face those same Athletics with a shot to clinch the AL West this weekend.
Wednesday, Sept 22 — The Astros beat the Angels 9-5, and the A’s lost 4-1 to the Mariners. The Astros are now down to a magic number of three on Seattle.
Tuesday, Sept 21 — The Astros beat the Angels 10-5 and the A’s lost 5-2 to the Mariners. That improves Houston’s magic number by two games to four.
Monday, Sept 20 — The Astros beat the Angels 10-0 while the A’s lost 4-2 to the Mariners. That improves Houston’s magic number by two games to six.
Sunday p.m., Sept. 18 — The Astros rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Diamondbacks 7-6. They lower their magic number by one with the A’s currently beating the Angels.
Friday p.m., Sept. 16 — The Astros beat Arizona 4-3 in extra innings. Oakland won again, so Houston only lowers its magic number by one.
Friday, Sept. 16 — The Astros thumped the Rangers 12-1, blowing the game open in the fourth inning with a seven-run inning. Oakland also won on Thursday, so the Astros could only cut their magic number by one down to 10.
Thursday, Sept. 16 — The ‘Stros wrap up a four-game set with the Texas Rangers on Thursday night. The team then has a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. Houston has a 7.0 game lead on the A’s and 7.5 games on the M’s. Things could get interesting down the line with the Astros facing Oakland in two separate series before the end of the season. For now, Houston will look to take care of business against weaker opponents.