Well, it looks like the Rangers are basically going through the motions now and looking toward tomorrow.
With a loss tonight, the lead will be down to 3 games, magic number still at 5, and 7 games left to play (4 against the A's). They will also fall to .500 against division foes---the only division leader that will not have a winning record within its own division. Ridiculous.
IMHO, tomorrow is as close to a must-win game for Texas as one can get if the plan is to hold on to the West title. Win-- and the lead is back to 4, magic number down to 3 with 6 to play (3 at home, 3 against A's), and at least one win in each series is all that is needed to win the West. Lose-- and the lead is down to 2 games, magic number is still 5, VERY little room for error the rest of the way, and the A's have all the momentum.
Should the A's somehow manage to win the West, it would be one of the better Cinderella seasons in quite awhile--that's a story I do not care to read.