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The Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night 6-1 to officially clinch a playoff berth.
They'll take on the Mariners again on Sunday afternoon with a chance to also officially wrap up the American League West title. Texas enters play on Sunday at 1.0 game ahead of the Houston Astros and any number of combinations of outcomes can keep them in that position.
By clinching a playoff berth, Rangers' manager Bruce Bochy joined some rare managerial history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
the 12th manager to bring 3+ franchises to the postseason! in other words...research confirms!!
Bochy is one of the elite managers in baseball history, having now spent 26 years behind the bench as a skipper. He spent 12 years with the San Diego Padres and 13 with the San Francisco Giants before coming to Texas this year.
He took the Padres to the playoffs four times, including a World Series appearance in 1998. He took the Giants there four times as well, including winning three championships.
The Rangers will enter the playoffs as one of the most serious contenders in the American League. Armed with an elite offense led by Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, they are fully capable of putting up runs on anyone.
They do have some questions in the starting rotation, where the health of Jon Gray is an issue, and they do have major questions in the bullpen, where Aroldis Chapman has really struggled lately.
The Rangers and Mariners will wrap up the regular season on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. ET.
More must-reads:
- Watch: Grandson of Red Sox legend homers at Fenway Park
- Dodgers ace to make first start in nearly two years on Monday
- The 'Active MLB strikeout leaders' quiz
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