Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer crumbled in a prominent spot Wednesday. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays' top wild-card competition is fading fast

By Zak Musso | Last updated 9/7/23

The pennant chase is on. The calendar is a week into September, and the playoff race is hotter than ever. The most intriguing race in baseball is the Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL wild-card spot.

After Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays hold a 0.5-game lead over the fast-falling Texas Rangers.

Wednesday was a missed opportunity for both, as the Blue Jays lost to the historically awful A's, while the Rangers fell to the Astros for the third straight night. Texas was on the wrong side of history this week. The Rangers were swept by their in-state rivals, giving up 12 or more runs in the three games.

The @astros are the first team in MLB history to score 12+ runs and hit 5+ homers in 3 straight games.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 7, 2023

Since Aug. 16, while Rangers are an abysmal 4-13. In comparison, the Blue Jays are just 10-8 in the span but have picked up 5.5 games in the standings.

Rangers ace Max Scherzer crumbled in a prominent spot Wednesday, something New Yorkers saw quite too often, allowing seven earned runs in just three innings. The Rangers can ill-afford a struggling, banged-up Scherzer if they are going to make a push.

Texas' pitching has seen a steep fall-off in the last 15 days. Six pitchers have made starts for the Rangers over the previous 15 days, all of whom have posted brutal ERAs: Scherzer (5.06), Jon Gray (4.91), Dane Dunning (10.80), Andrew Heaney (3.77) and Jordan Montgomery (9.00). Although he made just one start in the last 15 days, AL Cy Young candidate Nathan Eovaldi (27.00 ERA) gave up four earned runs in just 1.1 innings in Tuesday's loss.

Despite their recent 4-13 stretch, the Rangers have a scheduling advantage over the Blue Jays. The Rangers' remaining strength of schedule is just .496, while the Blue Jays' is .512.

This race will likely be decided next week as Toronto hosts Texas in a four-game series. Texas' four struggling starters, Scherzer, Eovaldi, Montgomery and Gray are each slated to start a game in that series. Buckle up.

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