Arlington hosts a pivotal six-game stretch that could reshape the AL West and wild-card landscape. Bochy pushes a simple blueprint—pitch well, string together timely hits, and play elite defense—as Texas tries to bridge the gap with Houston. With Nathan Eovaldi sidelined, Jacob deGrom’s consistency will be stretched, while Yordan Alvarez’s return heightens the Astros’ danger. Leadoff is unsettled with Langford or Freeman, and Jake Burger’s late-season spark could anchor the middle of Texas’ order.

Five wins in six against Houston would swing momentum and possibly tighten the division, but a sweep remains the ideal, something Texas hasn’t done against Houston since 2021. Alvarez’s track record against Texas and Valdez’s success against the Rangers loom large, while the three-team tiebreaker maze—Seattle, Boston and others—adds urgency to every at-bat. The Rangers’ postseason fate could hinge on small-but-significant choices in these two weeks.

Houston's Meyers continues his rehab from a right calf injury. After fouling a ball off his knee in a Triple-A game, he was evaluated and cleared to keep rehabbing, with team officials stressing no change to his return timeline. A weekend return in the Astros' series against Texas is on the table.

Last in action on July 6, Meyers appeared four innings into a rehab start at Sugar Land as part of his calf-injury return, then exited for knee concerns that were deemed non-issues by the medical staff. Houston will balance patience with urgency as they prep for the Rangers and Yankees matchup.

Astros hold a four-game lead in the AL West as the final regular-season series vs. Seattle looms, a 6 p.m. Sept. 21 edition of Sunday Night Baseball that could mark ESPN’s MLB era’s end amid talks of new 2026 TV deals with NBC and Apple. The Houston–Seattle matchup in Daikin Park caps a pivotal stretch with playoff implications for both clubs, and wild-card seeding hanging in the balance.

For fantasy managers, late-season rotations and bullpen usage in this series could swing daily lineups and streaming decisions as Houston eyes home-field advantage and Seattle fights to secure a wild-card berth behind Texas.

Two goals drive this Thursday FAAB preview: target practical, budget-friendly adds on a $100 FAAB and preview Sunday targets for fantasy managers in deeper leagues. The piece spotlights pitching upside and late-season bloomers, led by Luis Morales and Ryan Bergert, with Payton Tolle and Jack Leiter in the mix for next week. In the bullpen and batting depth, Jose Ferrer, Shawn Armstrong, and Ivan Herrera emerge as solid low-cost plays, while Rhys Hoskins, Blaze Alexander, Romy Gonzalez, Josh Jung, Ha-Seong Kim, Jeremiah Jackson, and Andrew Benintendi provide a concrete path to gains as rosters tighten.

Kyle Schwarber is poised for a blockbuster free-agent run after posting a career season with Philadelphia, and ESPN's Jeff Passan predicts a full-blown bidding war. Teams will worry about age, strikeouts, and defensive fit, but Schwarber's combination of power, OBP, and veteran presence could override concerns.

With several clubs still shopping for a designated-hitter solution, the Rangers, Padres, Braves, Astros, and Reds could all covet Schwarber's bat. A four-year, around $30 million-per-year deal is plausible, though the Phillies might keep him if the price becomes prohibitive.