The Week Ahead: Astros, Rangers meet in Texas showdown with big implications

Here we are in mid-September looking at an in-state tussle between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers that may just decide the AL West. Who’d have thunk it back in spring training?

The Astros, current leaders of the division by a game and a half, head to Arlington for four games starting Monday against the team chasing them in the standings. The Astros are coming off their most dramatic win of the year, but a strong showing by the Rangers here and things could flip-flop. Yep, that’s some big baseball happening in Texas this week.

Monday’s pitching matchup is the most intriguing too, as it pits two trade-deadline acquisitions against each other, with Scott Kazmir on the mound for Houston against Cole Hamels for the Rangers. The Astros score more runs and hit more homers, but the Rangers get more hits and get on base more. The edge in pitching goes to Houston, which has the fourth-best team ERA in baseball, while the Rangers have the sixth worst. That’s been slightly better since the All-Star break, though, with Texas ranking 20th in team ERA.

Point being, the Rangers pitchers will have to step up and limit the long ball if they want to leapfrog the Astros this week. Here are the scheduled pitching matchups:

• Monday: Kazmir (7-10, 2.63 ERA) vs. Hamels (9-8, 3.76)
• Tuesday: Collin McHugh (16-7, 3.89) vs. Martin Pérez (2-5, 5.43
• Wednesday: Dallas Keuchel (17-7, 2.22) vs. Derek Holland (3-2, 3.13)
• Thursday: Lance McCullers (5-5, 3.10) vs. Colby Lewis (15-8, 4.45)

CLARITY TO THE AL WILD-CARD PICTURE? MAYBE THIS WEEK
The other big race to watch in the AL this week is the wild card, which is still something of a free-for-all. At current, the New York Yankees hold the first spot and a three-game cushion, while the Rangers are second with a one-game lead over the Minnesota Twins. Also in the mix, realistically, are the Los Angeles Angels (3 games back) and Cleveland Indians (4.5 back).

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If you’re playing for a ticket to October, we’ve reached the portion of the year where every win counts. Especially against foes who are also in the hunt. The Twins face the Detroit Tigers then the Angels, in what will be an weekend important matchup. The Angels get the Seattle Mariners to start the week. The Indians, meanwhile, are playing well lately and could be a threat in these final weeks. They play four games at home against the Royals, then finish the week with three against the White Sox. The Yankees, meanwhile, shouldn’t be viewed as a sure-thing. They’re down a big bat now that Mark Teixeira is out for the year and they’re running into the red-hot Mets this weekend.

At this time next week, maybe we’ll see some clarity in the AL wild-card picture. Until then, enjoy the excitement.

(AP)

OUR FIRST 20-GAME WINNER: JAKE ARRIETA?
While wins and losses for pitchers are a stat that are falling out of favor with modern baseball analysts, there’s still something to be said about the 20-game winner. Accumulating 20 wins in a season means you did many things right, regardless of how clumsily wins and losses are sometimes assigned.

The first pitcher with a chance to win 20 games this season is Jake Arrieta, the recently anointed Chicago Cubs ace, who already has a no-hitter this season. As our Kyle Ringo wrote after Arrieta’s 19th win, he’s making a Cy Young case for himself with that 1.99 ERA. Arrieta is next scheduled to pitch Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and he could be the Cubs’ first 20-game winner since Jon Lieber in 2001.

THE CUBS HAVE A CHALLENGING WEEK
Speaking of the Cubs, they’re looking at a challenging week ahead. They’re doing quite well this season, sitting in the second NL wild-card spot with a 82-60 record and a 7.5 game lead. That record is good enough to be in first place in four other divisions in MLB. But, boy, is that NL Central stacked, so the Cubs are in third.

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This week has the Cubs matched up with the NL Central foes above them in the standings. They play four games in Pittsburgh against the Pirates starting Tuesday, then play the St. Louis Cardinals at home for three more. If nothing else, it’ll whet our appetites for the postseason. Unless the Cubs get super hot or super cold, this probably won’t have large postseason implications, but we could get a glimpse of what type of team we’ll be seeing come October. Then again, if the Cubs rattle off seven straight wins, that could make the NL Central standings even more fun. Seven straight losses and well, the wild-card hunters in the NL would start drooling. Speaking of …

IT’S DO-OR-DIE FOR THE NATS … BUT PROBABLY DIE
Let’s be real: The Washington Nationals are on life support. The only chance they have of avoiding a hugely disappointing season is going on a run in the final weeks and hoping another team takes a plunge. It’s not exactly likely, but it could happen. The Nats can only control their side of things, of course, and this week offers them a chance to get some wins.

They’re playing the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins, two also-rans in the NL East. Even with Bryce Harper a little beat up, those are winnable games for a team of their talent. Like we said, it’s probably too late for the Nats, but if they can reel off seven wins in a row — well, that would be some drama, huh?

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