The Rangers 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners coupled with an Angels loss propelled Texas to their second American League West title in as many years.
Texas used a trio of home runs and another strong effort from their bullpen to win their 91st game of the season.
The first two home runs were of a more traditional variety before Craig Gentry decided to get a little crazy. Adrian Beltre and Justin Hamilton went deep in the second and third, pushing the Rangers out to an early 3-0 lead.
Then, in the fourth frame, Gentry found a different way to make it all the way home.
Gentry lifted a ball to left center. Seattle’s outfielders converged, diving in unison to make the play. Unfortunately for them, both came up empty and the ball trickled to the wall. The miscue allowed Gentry to make it around all of the bases, just beating the throw to the plate.
This appeared to seal the victory, as Matt Harrison was nearly unhittable through the first five frames. But the left-hander faced some trouble in the 6th. A pair of walks, singles and sac flies later and the Rangers lead was cut to two.
But Texas’s pen made sure this was as close as the Mariners would get. Darren Oliver, Koji Uehara and Mike Adams combined to throw two scoreless frames before Neftali Feliz closed things out for his 30th save of the year.
Later in the night, the Angels dropped their opener with the A’s 3-1, punching the Rangers tickets for postseason play.
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