Despite entering Tuesday night three games under .500, the Texas Rangers continue to be in the thick of the playoff hunt. Yes, checking the standings in mid-May might be premature, but it's hard not to notice how poorly the AL West has performed to this point. On Tuesday morning, the Rangers sat just one game behind the Athletics for the shared division lead. Texas was tied with the Seattle Mariners for second place, with the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels bringing up the rear. That far into the season, it's rare to see a division leader not be at .500 or better, but we've seen this precedent before. Rangers MLB.com beat writer Kennedi Landry wrote that no AL West champion had ever won while posting a below .500 win percentage season. But the division once came close to seeing it. In 1994, Texas was leading the division by one game, despite being 10 games under .500 at the season's conclusion. The only problem was that the season was shortened to 114 games due to the strike and it was never concluded.The Athletics beat the Angels on Tuesday and the Rangers beat the Rockies, so the phenomenon only lasted one day — for now. The Rangers probably won't be in this position this season, but the poor division only heightens Texas' expectations. After all, it did win the World Series in 2023, just two seasons ago. Since then, it's been all downhill, but they've been gifted a golden opportunity this season. Pitching Has Not Been Problem for Rangers This SeasonJerome Miron-Imagn ImagesBaseball Reference gave the Rangers a 56.9% chance to make the playoffs this season, and a 31% chance to win the division, both of which are second behind the 2025 AL West-winning Mariners. The main reason for the increased odds is the pitching performance this season. The pitching staff is tied for second in the American League in opponent batting average against at .225, and first in the division by a long shot. The Angels are second in the West with a .242. The starting rotation has pitched well this season, but the bullpen is leading the charge. The bullpen entered Tuesday night with an MLB-best 3.06 ERA. Jakob Junis' team leading 1.80 ERA, followed closely by Tyler Alexander and Jacob Latz, who had ERAs right under 2.15 entering Tuesday. One of the most impressive parts of the bullpen is the ability for manager Skip Schumaker to give the ball to multiple arms in the ninth inning and not have to worry about a blown save. The trio of Latz, Junis, and Alexander each have two saves or more, for a total of a dozen, with one legitimate blown save between them. The real reason the Rangers haven't taken over the division lead is the offense. The quartet of Josh Jung, Ezequiel Duran, Brandon Nimmo and Justin Foscue has hit exceptionally well, but it gets scarcer from there. Texas is 12th in the American League in homers, 13th in batting average against, and 14th in runs scored. Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford Have Been MissedSteven Bisig-Imagn ImagesTexas is missing Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford, who have been on the IL for various parts of the season. Even when healthy, Seager is batting well below his career averages through his first 42 games this season. For the Rangers to take advantage of the woeful division, they must get a hold of the offensive conundrum. While there are reinforcements returning from injury at some point, the offense hasn't been exceptional with them playing. Texas has a massive opportunity this season and must capitalize. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow