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Get the Houston Astros jokes out of your system, Angels fans.

If you haven't heard by now, the Astros are joining the AL West. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Angels? Depends on your time horizon.

For a year or two, the Angels can probably count on a few more wins per year against a team that lost 106 games last season. Coupled with the extra wild-card berth, that might means the Angels have a better shot at the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. Maybe even 2015.

Beyond that, things get dicey.

I was talking recently to a prominent agent, who brought up -- unprompted -- what a bad thing this is going to be for the Angels. Houston is a major market, the No. 6 metropolitan area in the United States. The Astros figure to eventually sign a mega-dollar TV deal. They also have a new owner and those guys tend to want to spend lavishly when they first get their new toy.

We've already seen the rise of the Texas Rangers, under new ownership and a good management team, led by Nolan Ryan. The Astros, playing in the same division, figure to compete like crazy to out-do, or stay with, their in-state rivals.

The state of Texas is already a major headache for the Angels. Before long, they might be in for double the pain.

ANAHEIM -- The Angels snapped a two-game losing streak to prop up their slim playoff hopes with a 4-2 win over the Oakland A's Saturday night.

They now trail the slumping Boston Red Sox by 2 1/2 games (and the Tampa Bay Rays by one) in the AL wild-card standings.

The Good:

Toriitown. Before the game, the Angels presented Mark Trumbo with the team MVP trophy. Solid choice, considering the rookie leads the team in home runs and RBIs. But you could argue that Hunter has played better when the games matter most. He drove in three of the Angels' four runs, with a single in the first and a deep home run to left in the sixth.

Jerome's gem. Where would the Angels be without Jerome Williams? The reclamation project keeps adding to his story, making his fourth quality start in six starts. He pitched out of jams in the first, second and fifth innings and kept the Angels on track into the seventh inning. Williams is now 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA since he came up on Aug. 17.

Still going. Scott Downs allowed a two-out double to David DeJesus, but he took care of it by getting Kurt Suzuki to fly out and end the eighth inning. That kept intact a fairly remarkable run. Downs hasn't allowed a run at Angel Stadium this season, 27 scoreless outings in a row.

The Bad:

Out machine. The most amazing thing about Vernon Wells' brutal first season with the Angels isn't his batting average (.220), it's his on-base percentage (.249). Wells hasn't drawn a walk since Sept. 3. He's even jumpier than usual lately. He's also 0 for his last 13.

Hook-happy? Mike Scioscia won't hesitate to make a quick pitching change, particularly if it's not one of his three best starters. Williams had only thrown 97 pitches and had just gotten the first out of the seventh inning when Scioscia came to get the ball so he could give it to Hisanori Takahashi. It worked out, barely, when Takahashi pitched around a two-out single and stolen base, but seemed a tad rash.

Injury scare. Trumbo left the game after his second at-bat with what the Angels described as right ankle discomfort. If it's something that costs him time, it could be a major concern. He's one of the few power guys in the lineup and the Angels' only backup first baseman is Efren Navarro, a defensive specialist who spent the season in the minors. If Trumbo's out, look for Howie Kendrick to play a lot of first base.

While it's often portrayed that Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon is a disciple of Mike Scioscia because he was his bench coach for six seasons, the opposite is equally true. Maddon had been coaching in Anaheim for two decades, and had briefly been the team's interim manager, before Scioscia showed up in 2000.

Each manager admits the other has influenced his leadership style.

Now, they're in contention against one another for the first time, with Maddon's Rays and Scioscia's Angels both desperately chasing the slumping Boston Red Sox as the season draws to a close.

"It's strange," Scioscia said. "You look at it, there's a whole new division that forms at the end of the season, the wild-card division. It's Tampa, it's us, it's Boston. That's what it is right now."

Here are the lineups for Saturday night's game:

Oakland

1. Jemile Weeks 2B

2. Coco Crisp CF

3. Hideki Matsui LF

4. Josh Willingham DH

5. David DeJesus RF

6. Cliff Pennington SS

7. Kurt Suzuki C

8. Brandon Allen 1B

9. Scott Sizemore 3B

Angels

1. Erick Aybar SS

2. Howie Kendrick 2B

3. Bobby Abreu DH

4. Torii Hunter RF

5. Mark Trumbo 1B

6. Alberto Callaspo 3B

7. Vernon Wells LF

8. Peter Bourjos CF

9. Bobby Wilson C

ANAHEIM -- After Thursday night's extra-inning loss in Toronto, the Angels got the added bonus of five hours in the air, a 40-minute bus ride to the stadium and the joy of climbing into bed at about 4 a.m.

The team's charter flight had to land at LAX instead of John Wayne Airport, because of a curfew in Orange County.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the long flight gave the team time to work through the game and put it behind it. The Angels entered Friday's games three games behind the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race. They can gain a half-game with a win over the Oakland A's, because Boston was rained out in New York.

"The only frustrating thing about this is we haven't played at a level to keep control of things with how we played the game. We need help," Scioscia said.

Here are lineups for Friday's game:

Oakland

1. Jemile Weeks 2B

2. Coco Crisp CF

3. Hideki Matsui DH

4. Josh Willingham LF

5. David DeJesus RF

6. Cliff Pennington SS

7. Brandon Allen 1B

8. Kurt Suzuki C

9. Scott Sizemore 3B

Angels

1. MaicerIzturis 3B


2. Peter Bourjos CF


3. Howie Kendrick 2B

4. Torii Hunter RF


5. Mark Trumbo 1B


6. Vernon Wells DH


7. Mike Trout LF


8. Erick Aybar SS


9. Jeff Mathis C

A week ago, when Mike Scioscia decided he would start Jered Weaver on three days' rest -- though the first try had been a mess -- this is exactly what he had in mind. Weaver would pitch two of the Angels' final six games (on regular rest) to try to help the team reach the playoffs.

What he didn't anticipate was that his team would go 3-4 in the interim.

Now, instead of Weaver being the finisher, he's the last wall of defense. Rookie closer Jordan Walden said it after Thursday night's lifeless 4-3 12-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays: The Angels have six games left and they have to win them all. Of course, that might not be enough. The Boston Red Sox would have to go 3-3 just to give the Angels a share of the wild card and force a playoff.

If you're going to go down, may as well do it with your best on the mound. Weaver makes his 33rd start tonight aiming for his 19th win. He already is three innings over his personal high with two starts remaining. Only Justin Verlander and Dan Haren have thrown more pitches than Weaver's 3,629 in the AL.

The heavy wear and tear has made Weaver a different pitcher, but amazingly, a similarly effective pitcher. Weaver somehow has gone 3-0 this month with an average fastball velocity of about 88 mph, according to ESPN Stats and Info. That's a few miles per hour off his typical fastball and a few miles per hour off the major-league average.

It may not just be fatigue. Weaver seems to be throttling back, aware that he needs to reserve some fuel to get through his most trying season yet. It worked against the Orioles. It worked last time against the Oakland A's. If he can pull it off again tonight, the Angels will live to fight another day.

The Angels are in a tricky spot in this all-of-a-sudden wild-card race. You could argue that they're in the perfect position, waiting for a swooning team to fall back to them. So far, the Boston Red Sox have done just that, going 5-16 this month.

It's been about Boston's collapse more than the Angels' surge. Going 5-4 on a road trip to Oakland, Baltimore and Toronto isn't exactly applying the heavy-duty heat.

The Angels likely need to go 5-2 -- at least -- in this final week to have a shot at returning to the postseason, where they've landed in six of Mike Scioscia's first 11 seasons. Let's dig down deeper and figure out how they can complete this improbable feat:

Win: Obvious, right?

Sure, but that's not the same thing as automatic. The most worrisome thing about this opportunity is the Angels' trajectory. They went into Baltimore with Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver lined up. That's about as automatic as you can get, right? No such thing as automatic.

Haren and Santana didn't pitch well -- it happens -- and the Angels lost the two games that, in retrospect, cost them a chance to really apply pressure to Boston. This is the one time of a baseball season that is all about momentum, and the Angels desperately need it.

Straighten the A's. The Angels may have exorcised some demons by taking two of three games in Oakland last week, but they're still 7-9 this season against the A's. It's pretty simple. They're batting .223 against Oakland, their worst mark against any team other than the Cleveland Indians (oddly).

The A's haven't announced a starter for Sunday's game yet, but they'll use ace Gio Gonzalez (who just shut the Angels down in Oakland) and Guillermo Moscoso (who is pitching the best of his career) in the first two games. This Oakland series isn't automatic no matter how lifeless the A's are looking right now. They show more fight when they face the Angels, probably a mixture of confidence and motivation.

Let Texas party. The Angels should root hard for Texas in the next few days. Manager Ron Washington has said he won't rest his regulars until his club has clinched. The Rangers' magic number to win the AL West is three. The ideal scenario: Texas sweeps Seattle and clinches Sunday, meaning the Angels will see lineups sprinkled with September call-ups in each of their three season-ending games against the Rangers.

They figure to face Texas' ace, C.J. Wilson, on Monday. If Texas has clinched, Washington probably will limit Wilson to five innings or so as a tuneup for the playoffs, a huge advantage for the Angels.

Buy a Yankees cap. The Angels could get stung by the flip side of Texas clinching early. The New York Yankees have already sewn up the AL East. They're on the verge of locking up the best record in the league, with a five-game lead over Detroit and Texas.

While Yankees manager Joe Girardi undoubtedly will pay lip service to the integrity of pennant races, his first responsibility is to get his team set for the playoffs. The Yankees will look to rest regular position players and scale down their starters' innings over the final week.

The Angels need to hope that the Yankees' depth (and pride) wins out, because they play exclusively against the two other wild-card contenders in their final six games. The Angels need help, and the Yankees are their best friends right now. So, what is the Yankees' reward if they help the Angels? They get to face them in the American League Division Series.

Suddenly, the Angels' chances of getting into the playoffs as the wild card have sprouted to life.

The Boston Red Sox are battered and, lately, beaten. Boston has lost five in a row and 10 of its last 13, including the past three to the Tampa Bay Rays, whom they play in a four-game series starting Thursday in Boston. Meanwhile, Kevin Youkilis has hip and groin injuries, Josh Beckett is coming off a sprained ankle and John Lackey has been the worst starting pitcher in the American League.

Maybe the super team is in the midst of a spectacular September collapse? It's worth noting, because the Texas Rangers are 27-9 this year against the teams they're playing before they reach Anaheim later this month.

The Rays trail Boston by 3 1/2 games in the wild-card standings. The Angels are five back.

It's possible the Rays could take it from the Red Sox, then hand it to the Angels. Tampa plays six of its final nine games against the first-place New York Yankees. The key for the Angels in any playoff-push scenario is to do well on this dominate-able road trip, which begins tonight in Oakland, moves to Baltimore and finishes in Toronto. Anything less than 6-4 could end their hopes.

Hey, it's possible. Just saying.