Rangers Staying Alive
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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers are doing what they have to do to stay in the playoff race.
With Texas needing a win to keep pace with the American League wild-card leaders, Jurickson Profar homered in the ninth inning to lift the Rangers to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Rangers Ballpark.
The Rangers (88-71) extended their winning streak to four in the opener of a season-ending, four-game series. Texas remains one game behind the Cleveland Indians (89-70) for the second wild-card spot with three games left. The Tampa Bay Rays (90-69) are the wild-card leader.
“We know what’s at stake, and we’re fighting every night,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “They showed you that tonight.”
Profar, pinch-hitting for Adam Rosales to lead off the ninth, sent a fastball into the right field seats off reliever Michael Kohn (1-4). Texas beat the Angels (78-81) with a walk-off homer for the fourth straight time in Arlington, with the other three coming in July.
“I was looking for a pitch to drive, and I got it,” Profar said of his first career walk-off home run, his sixth homer of the year. “I made a good swing.”
Kohn cannot believe the Angels’ luck in Texas.
“It’s definitely weird,” he said. “I personally haven’t made pitches here, and I’ve gotten beat every time I’ve done that.”
The Rangers averted trouble in the top of the ninth, as Joe Nathan left Josh
Hamilton stranded at third. Texas’ former MVP was 90 feet from home with one out before Nathan (6-2) struck out the next two batters.
Texas jumped ahead 5-4 in the sixth on Leonys Martin’s two-run double to center off Cory Rasmus, the second Los Angeles reliever of the inning.
Texas reliever Tanner Scheppers couldn’t hold the lead. Kole Calhoun tripled to lead off the seventh and scored on Mark Trumbo’s third hit.
Rangers starter Matt Garza should have escaped the second with his team on top, but his defense let him down. Texas committed a franchise-record four errors in the frame, leading to three unearned runs.
“That’s not us,” Washington said of the errors. “Those guys work hard every day on their defense and they take pride in it, but that’s the way baseball is.”
Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler each made fielding errors. Throwing errors from Kinsler and Adrian Beltre allowed three runs to score.
Texas’ defense did pick up Garza in the fifth. The Angels had three consecutive singles to start the inning, but the third hit didn’t lead to a run. Left fielder Craig Gentry threw out Howie Kendrick at the plate, and Garza eventually worked out of a bases-loaded jam.
Angels starter Jerome Williams worked some magic of his own in the bottom of the fifth. The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs and the heart of the Texas order coming up. Williams struck out Alex Rios and coaxed a double-play ball out of Beltre to preserve Los Angeles’ 4-3 advantage.
Los Angeles opened the game with two consecutive singles and went up 1-0 on Mike Trout’s groundout that scored J.B. Shuck.
Texas also had two hits to start the bottom of the inning en route to a three-run rally. Beltre and A.J. Pierzynski hit run-scoring singles, and Moreland added a sacrifice fly.
Garza gave up four runs (one earned) on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Williams allowed three runs on nine hits in five innings.
