Rangers preview: Home-field advantage, club records on the line

Let’s get right to the point. If the Rangers win one of their final three games they’ll clinch the best record in the American League regardless of what the Boston Red Sox or Cleveland Indians do.

True, if the Red Sox or Indians lose another game it’s impossible for them to finish better than the Rangers even if Texas is swept by the last-place Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Park. The Rangers own tiebreaker edges on both clubs.

But the Rangers don’t want it to go down like that. If they could draw it up, they’d get another solid start from Yu Darvish and win Friday’s opener, and then give their regulars some rest on Saturday and Sunday.

Unless something catastrophic happens, as in the Rangers getting swept and the Red Sox and Indians winning out, Texas will host ALDS Games 1 and 2 at Globe Life Park on Thursday and Oct. 7. Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10, with Game 5 scheduled for Oct. 12 back at Globe Life Park.

The series details:

Friday: RHP Yu Darvish (6-5, 3.53) vs. RHP Matt Andriese (8-7, 4.34) 7:05 p.m. (TV: FSSW)

Saturday: RHP Colby Lewis (6-4, 3.93) vs. RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-6, 3.77) 7:05 p.m. (TV: FSSW)

Sunday: LHP Martin Perez (10-11, 4.37) vs. RHP Chase Whitley (0-0, 1.74) 2:05 p.m. (TV: FSSW)

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 1:49 AM with the headline "Rangers preview: Home-field advantage, club records on the line."