A message for those clinging to a shred of hope that the Rangers will somehow find a way to get into the American League playoffs for a third consecutive season:

Forget about it.

The Rangers may not be officially eliminated, but they are finished for this season. Here are the top five reasons why that is so:

History

A total of 314 teams have reached the postseason. Only four were in the same or worse situation than the Rangers are going into a series opener at Seattle on Tuesday night: 4 1/2 games out of the second American League wild card with 13 games to play.

In 1951, the New York Giants trailed Brooklyn by six with 13 games to play. In 1964, St. Louis was 6 ½ games behind Philadelphia with 13 to play.

Two other teams that got in as wild cards have in the same spot as the Rangers. In 2007, Colorado was 4 ½ games behind San Diego. In 2011, St. Louis also made up a 4 ½-game deficit on Atlanta.

Of those clubs, only Colorado had teams between it and the leader.

In each case, it took the perfect storm for the challenger to get into the playoffs. Consider the 2007 National League wild-card race. Colorado won 12 of its last 13 games, and San Diego had a pedestrian 7-6 finish.

Are the Rangers capable of a 12-1 burst to finish the season?

Raising the white flag

Texas Rangers catcher Brett Nicholas (6) watches as starting pitcher Tyson Ross, center, turns the ball over to manager Jeff Banister, right, during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (Tony Gutierrez / AP)

The Rangers would not say it at the time, but the trade of right-hander Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31 represented surrender on this season.

The Rangers had no one primed to take over Darvish's rotation spot. The plug-ins have come up well short.

A.J. Griffin, Nick Martinez and Tyson Ross have each made three starts in what likely would have been Darvish's turn. The Rangers are 1-8 in those games and have usually been routed early. The starters have a 7.81 ERA with an average of 4.48 innings per start.

Schedule I

Minnesota, which leads in the race for the second American League wild card, has seven of its final 13 games against Detroit. The Tigers went into full rebuild mode in July and are 11-30 since Aug. 5.

Schedule II

Seattle Mariners' Nelson Cruz (23) points skyward in front of Texas Rangers catcher A.J. Jimenez, right, after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (Tony Gutierrez / AP)

The Rangers have 10 of their final 13 games against Oakland and Seattle, clubs that have tormented them this season.

The Rangers are 5-11 against Seattle. One reason for the record is the Rangers' inability to keep Mariners hitters in the park. Seattle has 19 homers in the season series. That includes nine homers by the Mariners in winning a four-game series at Globe Life Park last week.

The Rangers have split 12 games with Oakland, which is 60-77 in all other games.

The Athletics have 18 homers in the season series with the Rangers. Left fielder Khris Davis has four homers in 39 at-bats against the Rangers this season and 15 in 107 career at-bats.

Power outage

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 09: Carlos Gomez #14 of the Texas Rangers winces in pain after rolling his ankle running to first base in the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Globe Life Park in Arlington on September 9, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez/Getty Images) (Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)

The Rangers stayed on the edge of postseason contention with their power.

They have 66 multi-homer performances and are 47-19 in those games. Only Houston (49-18) and Oakland (41-26) have had more multi-homer games among major-league clubs.

The Rangers' power declined as older players -- Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gomez and Mike Napoli -- came up with injuries in the final month. The Rangers go into the series at Seattle with five homers in the past nine games. They are 2-7 in those games, ending their slim chances at the postseason.