(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
For the past several years, the American League West division has been dominated by the Houston Astros.
The team has reached the World Series four times in the past six years and has won two titles.
The last time the Astros did not win the AL West was in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
However, 2023 could potentially represent a changing of the guard within the division.
On Sunday night, the Texas Rangers served notice as they blew out the defending World Series champions by a final score of 9-1 and ultimately secured a series win at Minute Maid Park.
On Twitter, MLB posted a graphic featuring the final score.
The @Rangers dominated on #SundayNightBaseball! pic.twitter.com/HkkJpGwkoD
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2023
The popular consensus is that the Astros are still the best team in the division top to bottom.
However, the Rangers proved on Sunday that they should not be overlooked, especially after such a strong offseason.
They signed Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney to bolster their starting rotation.
But their offense already consisted of Adolis Garcia, Nathaniel Lowe, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien.
The Rangers won the series opener on Friday by a final of 6-2 before dropping the second game by the score of 8-2.
However on Sunday, the Rangers proved that the AL West may not be the Astros’ for the taking anymore.
Texas leads the division by 1.5 games over the Seattle Mariners with a 9-6 record, while Houston sits in fourth place with a 7-9 record.
The Rangers may be a force to be reckoned with in 2023 and a team that could challenge the Astros for AL West supremacy.
The post The Astros May Finally Have A Challenger In The AL West appeared first on The Cold Wire.