Magic Number Counter: Astros crush the Angels and another teams clinches division

Houston’s number dwindles down day by day

In one of their best offensive performances of the year, the Astros collected 20 hits in their win over the Angels. Meanwhile, the Tigers continue to stay red hot while the Twins and Royals stay cold and are at risk of losing their spots in the postseason.

Let’s see what happened around the league in today’s Magic Number Counter

Houston Astros (87-70): 10, Los Angeles Angels (62-93): 4

Three.

In an offensive domination, the Astros crushed the ball for the second day in a row, but this time in much more dominating fashion, and it all got started in the first inning. After a Yordan double, Kyle Tucker matched him with a down the right field line to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.

The Angels got of their own in the top of the second, but Houston answered back with another two runs in the bottom half. They then continued to crush, getting four more runs in the third, another in the fourth and two more in the seventh.

The four-run third is credited to Victor Cartitini, who blasted a three-run shot, and Yordan, who got a two-out RBI-single to put the Astros ahead 7-1. Both teams would get one more run after this, the Angels getting their’s on a Logan O’Hoppe bomb and the Astros’ off a Dubon single.

That was all the scoring for the Angels till the ninth, but the Astros tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back shots from Yordan and Tucker, giving the Astros’ their 10th run of the game.

The Angels got the two in the ninth to bring the game to 10-4 but that was all they could manage, giving the Astros the win and moving their magic number down to three.

Seattle Mariners (80-75): 8, Texas Rangers (73-82): 4

The Mariners continue to stay alive. Their win keeps them in the running for a Wild Card spot. They are just a game and a half behind the Twins in the race and with the way the Twins are playing, it could come down to the wire between the two of them and the Tigers.

The M’s took the lead right away in the first thanks to a leadoff blast from Julio Rodriguez and got another one later in the inning on an RBI-single from Jorge Polanco. Texas responded with two of their own in the third thanks to a Josh Smith homer, tying the game at 2.

The game stayed that way till the sixth when both teams got on the board again, but this time, it wasn’t tied. The M’s added first off three RBI-singles in a row. The Rangers got a couple back but weren’t able to match, only getting two and putting the M’s up 5-4.

The M’s kept that lead for the rest of the game, adding three more on to it in the ninth and finishing with a 8-4 win. They find themselves still in the WC race and not giving up on making it to the postseason.

Detroit Tigers (81-74): 6, Baltimore Orioles (86-69): 4

The hottest team in all of baseball, the Tigers have put themselves in a prime position to make the postseason after not having a chance at the All-Star break. They can’t stop winning and it has put them only a half a game back of the Twins.

Both teams got their scoring started in the second, with the Tigers getting two runs across and the O’s getting one, before the O’s eventually tied it at two in the sixth thanks to an Emmanuel Rivera RBI-single.

That was when the game got a little crazy. The Tigers got one home on a single by Jake Rodgers and another run on a Colt Keith sac fly, putting them up 4-2. That was matched in the bottom of the ninth by the O’s by a two-run double by Gunner Henderson to tie the game and send it into extras.

Right away in extras, the Tigers got to work. A leadoff single by Riley Greene put them on top and a Zach McKinstry sac fly added on to that and put them back up 6-4. Detroit then put men on first and third with one-out and got out of the jam, getting the win.

The Tigers are now only a half a get out of the postseason and with seven games remaining in the season, it is going to be down to the wire for that spot.

Other games that matter

Kansas City Royals: 0, San Francisco Giants: 9

Another huge loss by the Royals, they are starting to slip into a place where no one thought they would. They find themselves only a half game up on the sixth seeded Twins and a full game up on the Tigers, who are not even in the playoffs at the moment. The Royals are currently the five seed and would have to play the four in the first round. If they continue to keep losing like they have been recently, they will slip themselves all the way out of the playoffs after having such an amazing start to the season.

Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox: Delayed

A delay meant a lot for the Twins. If they had lost this game, they would be tied with the Tigers for their playoff spot with just about a week to go. If the Twins want to stay where they are or move up in the seeding, they need to win. One thing that doesn’t help them is the Cleveland Guardians clinching the AL Central, making them the first team in the American League to clinch a division. The Twins division