Follow this year's playoff push as theScore's MLB editors count down the days until the postseason, which begins with the AL wild-card game Oct. 6.
The Texas Rangers are on the verge of completing a comeback unseen in nearly a decade. And they've got three chances to do it.
The Rangers are headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2012, but beginning Friday they can do something even more impressive: become the fifth team in 40 years - and first since the Minnesota Twins in 2006 - to win a division after trailing by as many as eight games in August.
"We knew it was going to be a chance," Elvis Andrus told reporters Thursday after the Rangers clinched a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. "We talked to everybody, we've got 60-something games ahead. Baseball is so crazy. You don't know what's going to happen."
As unpredictable as the American League West has been, the Rangers control their own destiny heading into the final weekend of the season. Bolstered by a three-game lead with three games left to play, Texas can clinch a date in the division series with its next win or Houston Astros loss.
Related: MLB Playoff Picture - 3 things to know from Thursday
The Rangers' unbelievable run has been months in the making, erasing the eight-game deficit by going 44-23 since July 29 - the day news broke they had traded for lefty ace Cole Hamels.
"We want to finish the job we started," Josh Hamilton said. "The ultimate goal is to win the World Series, but first you have to get to the playoffs. We still have some work to do. Still, everybody is excited at the same time."
GAMES THAT MATTER
The Angels can't win the West, but they can still clinch a wild-card berth this weekend. They continue their four-game series in Texas tied with Minnesota and one game behind Houston for the second wild-card spot. ... Houston sends Cy Young contender Dallas Keuchel to the mound in Arizona in search of his 20th win and a ticket to the playoffs. ... The Royals, Blue Jays, Mets, Dodgers, Pirates, Cubs, and Yankees all resume their fight for home-field advantage Friday, weather implications notwithstanding.
CURRENT PLAYOFF PICTURE
| DATE | SERIES | AWAY | HOME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6 | AL WC | HOU | w-NYY |
| Oct 7 | NL WC | w-CHC | w-PIT |
| Oct 8 | ALDS | HOU or NYY | y-TOR |
| Oct 8 | ALDS | x-TEX | y-KC |
| Oct 9 | NLDS | CHC or PIT | y-STL |
| Oct 9 | NLDS | y-LAD | y-NYM |
w: clinched wild card
x: clinched playoff berth
y: clinched division
