The Texas Rangers' September path just got a cleaner map and a harder personnel question on the same day. Texas opens its final homestand Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field at 7:05 p.m. CT, the start of a stretch in which nine of the club's last 12 games are at home.
At the same time, designated hitter Joc Pederson's left-hand injury still sits on a Wednesday injured-list deadline if the Rangers want a Sunday retroactive move.
Monday delivered standings help the Rangers could not create themselves. The Cleveland Guardians lost to the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Detroit Tigers, Sports Illustrated's Matt Postins noted. Those results left Cleveland a half-game ahead of Toronto and 1.5 games ahead of Texas in the scramble for the final American League wild-card berth.
Texas also sits one game behind the Houston Astros in the AL West after entering the week at 74-76.
Home schedule is the leverage
Postins framed the remaining slate as the Rangers' best remaining advantage: Boston and Toronto at home, then the New York Mets, before a season-ending trip to Minnesota. Texas' home record (40-32) ranks among the stronger marks in the majors.
A division title would bring a home wild-card series - the benefit Texas did not have in its 2023 World Series run - but the wild-card elimination number listed for Texas was 11 as the homestand opened.
Houston, at 75-75 after being swept by Tampa Bay last weekend, hosts Kansas City and Atlanta this week before closing with six road games against AL West clubs. The Rangers cannot control that slate. They can control whether the Globe Life stretch turns a 1.5-game wild-card deficit into a September climb.
Pederson's hand still shapes the lineup
Pederson was hit on the left hand by a Brandon Pfaadt fastball in Saturday's win at Arizona and was out of Sunday's lineup with a hard brace on a swollen hand, Dallas Sports Journal reported, citing Dallas Morning News coverage. Saturday's X-rays were negative, but the club waited on a CT scan and a specialist visit because small wrist bones can hide under swelling.
Manager Skip Schumaker said the day-to-day call depends on Pederson's ability to grip and swing. "Where he got hit, it's going to potentially take a little bit of time because of the swelling," Schumaker said, per reporting relayed by Dallas Sports Journal.
