The Rangers have nine regular-season games left with Houston. Those games will mean something again when the season resumes on Friday.
The combination of a Rangers skid and Houston surge before the All-Star break changed the shape of the American League West. What looked to be a runaway by the Rangers has turned into the expected contest with the Astros.
A win at the New York Yankees on June 28 put the Rangers at 51-27 and 10 games up in the West. Since division play began in 1969, all 17 teams that had a double-digit lead before July 1 won their division, most going away.