ARLINGTON — It’s far from official, but there was an air of finality to the Texas Rangers‘ loss Wednesday afternoon at Globe Life Field.
The Houston Astros took the three-game series and the season series with a 6-4 punch in the mouth.
The Astros, who built a 5-0 lead, clinched the season series with Wednesday’s win, taking seven of the 13 games, including two of the final three at Globe Life Field. This gives Houston a tiebreaker edge in the event the clubs finish with the same record at the end of the regular season. The same scenario played out in 2023 and the Astros earned the AL West division title based on their head-to-head edge.
The Astros have won the Silver Boot series every season since 2017 (except the COVID-shortened 2020 season in which the teams went 5-5). The Rangers last won the series in 2016.
The Rangers dropped to 5.5 games back of the Astros and first-place Seattle Mariners (59-55), who host the Detroit Tigers tonight.
The Astros built a 5-0 lead with a three-run sixth. The Rangers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning, including a leadoff homer from Marcus Semien.
The Rangers are seven games below .500 for the first time since July 6 and have lost nine of their past 12 since winning…
