Saturday did not separate them. It only sharpened the knife.
Texas beat Minnesota 6-2 in a rain-delayed night at Target Field, the Associated Press reported, and Houston later routed the Athletics 13-2 in Sacramento. Both clubs woke up Sunday at 80-81 atop the American League West. The standings line is even. The October path is not.
Houston won the season series 9-4, CBS Sports and other overnight scenario boards reiterated. Matching records still send the Astros into the playoffs. Texas has to finish ahead - a win at Minnesota and an Athletics win over Houston, nothing less.
What Sunday actually requires
CBS Sports' Game 162 board is blunt. An Astros win over the Athletics clinches the West regardless of what Texas does. A Rangers loss to the Twins does the same for Houston. The Rangers' only combination is their own win and a Houston loss. There is no Game 163 for the division under the current format.
Whoever emerges faces the White Sox in a Wild Card Series, CBS Sports reported, and will be the first club in a full MLB season to reach the postseason with a losing or .500 record. That historical footnote is already locked. The only open question is which Texas club owns it.
Gore on the mound, Jung still on the IL
MacKenzie Gore is confirmed for the finale against Minnesota right-hander Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.97 ERA), CBS Sports' RotoWire desk and later reporting said. Gore carries a 4.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across a career-high 170.2 innings. Kremer has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last three starts, the AP noted Saturday night when Texas still had not named its Sunday pitcher.
The lineup Gore works in front of is thinner than the one that opened the weekend. Josh Jung is on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand after Friday's hit-by-pitch, MLB Trade Rumors reported, summarizing manager Skip Schumaker's comments. Nicky Lopez left Saturday's win with a left ankle/heel issue and was replaced by Michael Freeman, the AP game story said.
Danny Jansen and Jake Burger supplied the power Saturday - Jansen's homer and two RBIs, Burger's team-leading 28th home run - but October availability starts with surviving Sunday.
Nathan Eovaldi's first start since Aug. 7 bought Texas the night that forced this finale. Gore now has to finish the arithmetic Eovaldi kept alive.
