DALLAS — The Texas Rangers are heading to the playoffs. Now we know who they are playing, and when.
After losing their season finale Sunday in Seattle, the Rangers (90-72) dropped behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and into the Wild Card spot.
The Rangers and Astros finished in a tie atop the AL West, after Houston beat Arizona on Sunday, but the Astros won the tiebreaker for the division title after winning the season-long series against the Rangers.
In any case, that now means Texas will play the Tampa Bay Rays in a best-of-three Wild Card series, beginning Tuesday at Tampa Bay. All three potential games will be played at Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field.
The three games will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and they'll be broadcast on WFAA (ABC).
How and when to watch the Rangers
Here's the full schedule:
- Game 1: Tuesday, 2:08 p.m. CT (WFAA)
- Game 2: Wednesday, 2:08 p.m. CT (WFAA)
- Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, 2:08 p.m. CT (WFAA)
The one wrinkle to the schedule would happen if the Philadelphia-Miami series only goes two games, and the Rangers-Rays series goes three games. In that scenario, Game 3 of Rangers-Rays will move to 7:08 p.m. CT on ESPN.
While it's not official yet, the Rangers are likely to start Jordan Montgomery on the mound, opposite of the Rays' Tyler Glasnow.
The Rangers are 4-2 against the Rays this year, including a sweep at home in July. But Texas' lone trip to Tropicana Field resulted in a series loss in June, when they dropped two of three to the Rays.
There was some belief that Texas, if it dropped to a Wild Card spot, would end up playing the Minnesota Twins in the best-of-three series. But the Rays' series win against Toronto held Toronto to 89 wins, behind the Rangers.
So the Rangers ended up taking the No. 5 seed, which is matched up against the 4th-seeded Rays in the playoffs.
The Astros, because they won the division, will be the No. 2 seed in the American League and get the benefit of a first-round bye. Houston will play in the American League Division Series beginning Saturday at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
If the Rangers beat the Rays in the Wild Card round, they'll play the top-seeded Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series, which will also begin Saturday in Baltimore.
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