As the Chicago White Sox stumble, the surging Texas Rangers must maintain their winning streak during this high-stakes eight-game final stretch.
The Texas Rangers are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and that makes them one of the hottest teams in the American League Wild Card race.
At this point, the Boston Red Sox are so close to clinching it's not even worth worrying about them.
The Red Sox are six games up on the Chicago White Sox, the team that is currently holding the final AL Wild Card spot.
That said, the White Sox are just 3-7 in their last 10 games. That's the worst record of the nine teams still in the mix, so it's incredible to see the Rangers getting hot when the White Sox are the coldest they've been.
Remember, the Rangers are one game back of the White Sox, but were just 2-4 against them in the regular season.
Knowing the White Sox have the head-to-head tiebreaker, that means the Rangers' one-game deficit is essentially two games since a tie would see Chicago make the playoffs over Texas.
Rangers must keep doing what they're doing
With only eight games remaining, there's still enough time for other teams to get into the mix, and that's the last thing the Rangers can afford.
Coming off a dominant 7-1 win, the Rangers have officially won five of their last six games. They're back up to .500 overall, but now the mission is to stay over .500 the rest of the season.
This is a Rangers team that has hovered around that winning percentage their last few games, but it's worth noting they haven't been above .500 since Aug. 10, when they improved to 60-59.
If there was ever a time to stay above .500, it's now. The Rangers don't know how many more games the White Sox are going to lose, so getting ahead of them at this point in the season means everything.
Two other teams to monitor
The American League East isn't going down without a fight this season. With two teams already in the playoffs, and the Red Sox likely to become the third, there's a chance either the Toronto Blue Jays or Baltimore Orioles could also make the playoffs.
When looking at Toronto, they're two games back of the final Wild Card spot while the Orioles are three. Neither team is a super huge worry to the Rangers, as long as Texas keeps winning games (especially these next two against the Blue Jays) and the White Sox keep losing.
Things could always get super interesting down the stretch, so it's worth noting the Rangers have the tiebreaker over both the Blue Jays and Orioles.
