The Yankees lost.

The Mariners lost.

The Red Sox lost.

The Rays lost.

The Rangers won, 8-3 over the disappointing Atlanta Braves.

It might not happen again where the four teams ahead of the Rangers in the wild card chase all lose while the Rangers win. It couldn’t have been a more fortuitous for the Rangers, to pick up ground on all four teams in one night. They leap frogged the Rays and pulled to within a half-game of the Red Sox for the third wild card spot. And now they just two games from the Yankees for the top spot. Two games is spitting distance.

Now, the Rangers are four games over .500. Now, it’s a race. Now, the Rangers can legitimately be considered in the playoff picture.

Now, the fun begins. The nail biting begins. The scoreboard watching begins.  The agony begins. The pain begins.

Now, the heartache begins. The glorious heartache of a pennant race.

*****