What the Astros' Path to the Postseason Looks Like

The Astros have six games left, and all are on the road in the division. In order to have a great chance of winning the AL West, Houston will likely have to win five out of the six.

There's practically no chance for the Astros to be a wild card team this year as the Chicago White Sox have that under control. They are three games ahead of Houston with series against the two of the worst teams in baseball (Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies) remaining.

The only way is the division. The Astros have a two-game series at the Seattle Mariners before facing the Athletics in Sacremento for four games. While both the M's and A's are already eliminated, they have given the Astros big problems this year.

Houston is 2-9 against Seattle this season and 4-5 against the Athletics. It's favorable in terms of team records, but won't be easy. The Astros will need to sweep either one of these series at the minimum to have a good shot.

Sweeping the A's, who are the third-worst team in baseball, and splitting the Mariners in Seattle can be a reasonable feat to accomplish and the best path to make it to October.

A 4-2 record could also be enough depending on what the Rangers do. That is so important. If Texas doesn't end its season well, that completely opens the door for Houston.

The Rangers face the New York Mets at home in a three-game set before they go out to Minnesota and take out the Twins. The schedules don't have much difference in terms of difficulty, and that isn't a good sign for the Astros.

Both those opponents are out of playoff contention. The Mets are 71-85 and are coming off a series win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Anything can happen in baseball, and that has especially been the case in the AL West this year. The Twins aren't much better at 73-84, but swept the Rangers in three games earlier this year. The Mariners have a similar record of 73-83.

Houston will need the Rangers to lose a couple of games. It's possible that an 81-81 record could be enough to win a division for the first time ever. If the Rangers lose one of the two series, that would give the Astros a real chance.