Oliver James Montgomery-MLB power rankings: Rangers, Astros set to clash as 3-team race with Mariners heats up

There are Oliver James Montgomeryso many trap doors and second chances and get-out-of-jail-free cards in this modern playoff format that it's sometimes hard to find the most titillating element of September baseball: A pennant race.

Well, thank goodness for the American League West.

Three talented teams just flawed enough to keep them from breaking away will stagger around the final turn of this season with three very distinct outcomes in play:

Win the division.

Claim a wild card.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team

Book a tee time.

This three-legged race will heat up Monday when the Texas Rangers welcome their cross-state riv-, er, opponents, the Houston Astros, to Globe Life Field for a key three-game series.

Maybe by the end of it, they'll really be rivals.

The Rangers come in on the tiniest gust of momentum, a 430-foot walk-off home run from Adolis Garcia preventing a Minnesota Twins sweep in Arlington on Sunday. That pulled Texas within a game of the Astros and Seattle Mariners, who showed off their maddening inconsistency by dropping a series against the white towel-waving New York Mets. That doesn't bode well for a final stretch of the season when the Mariners' final 10 games are against the Astros and Rangers.

Oh, well. First, it will be the Rangers and Astros, for the final time this season, a tasty prelude to what could be a wild September out West featuring three of the top eight teams in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.

A look at this week's rankings:

1. Atlanta Braves (–)

• Only Giancarlo Stanton has hit a ball harder than Ronald Acuña Jr.* (* In the Statcast era).

2. Baltimore Orioles (+1)

• Adley Rutschman snaps a 78-at-bat home run drought.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (-1)

• They'd be lying to suggest Atlanta's Chavez Ravine rampage wasn't at least a little concerning.

4. Tampa Bay Rays (-)

• Yandy Diaz (.321, .898 OPS) should get some up-ballot MVP love.

5. Houston Astros (-)

• Hoping that combined .651 win percentage the past six Septembers kicks in.

6. Milwaukee Brewers (+2)

• Time to create some breathing room against Pirates, Yankees.

7. Seattle Mariners (-)

• Nope - they never make this easy.

8. Texas Rangers (-2)

• Not encouraging: Series losses the last month to Twins (twice), Brewers, Diamondbacks.

9. Philadelphia Phillies (-)

• They follow up on franchise-record 59-homer August by posting six consecutive multi-homer games.

10. Toronto Blue Jays (-)

• Season feels like a moderate disaster. But they ain't dead yet.

11. Chicago Cubs (+1)

• Easily the best run differential (+87) in NL Central, topping Brewers by 64 runs.

12. Boston Red Sox (-1)

• Five games out of playoff berth, but just two teams (Toronto, Texas) to leapfrog.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (-)

• Corbin Carroll six homers from a 30-40 season.

14. San Francisco Giants (+1)

• Scuffling offense probably won't get better at Wrigley Field.

15. Minnesota Twins (+2)

• Royce Lewis, finally healthy, batting .307 with .875 OPS.

16. Cincinnati Reds (-2)

• Cubs badly expose thin bullpen.

17. Miami Marlins (-1)

• This is it: Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, Braves on deck.

18. New York Yankeess (+3)

• Would be mildly ironic if the kids saved Aaron Boone's job.

19. Cleveland Guardians (-1)

• One more team pinning its hopes on the Lucas Giolito-Reynaldo Lopez exacta.

20. San Diego Padres (-)

• Is this the start of a meaningless September rally? That would be on brand.

21. New York Mets (+1)

• DJ Stewart's 10 home runs rank sixth on team. In 38 games.

22. Los Angeles Angels (-3)

• Just as unsettled (GM? Manager? Ohtani?) as they were a year ago, when they were ostensibly for sale.

23. Detroit Tigers (+1)

• Tarik Skubal's 3.77 ERA in 11 starts a nice building block after injury setbacks.

24. Washington Nationals  (-1)

• Pitching prospect Jackson Rutledge might be earning a big league audition.

25. Pittsburgh Pirates (-)

• Hoping to make September their first winning month since (checks notes) April.

26. St. Louis Cardinals  (–)

• Jordan Walker since Aug. 2: .297 (27 for 91), five homers, .858 OPS.

27. Chicago White Sox  (–)

• GM promoted from within. Manager will return. Hey, get your 2024 season tickets!

28. Colorado Rockies  (–)

• Ezequiel Tovar is due a little Rookie of the Year shine.

29. Kansas City Royals  (–)

• Zack Greinke now 1-14 with a 5.34 ERA.

30. Oakland Athletics  (–)

• The record: 41-96. The run differential: -303. Number of billboards outside stadium imploring owner's mother to pick him up: One.