Rangers move to brink of AL West title with win against Tigers
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
After going from yearly contender to last place in 2014, the Texas Rangers are back on the brink of an AL West title.
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The Rangers took firm control of the division with a 6-2 win against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Coupled with an Angels loss, their magic number to clinch is down to two. They have a four-game series against those same Angels beginning on Thursday. All they’ll need to do is win one to eliminate the Angels and two to celebrate pending the Astros results this weekend in Arizona.
Texas came out swinging on Wednesday, scoring six runs in the first three innings against Detroit starter Matt Boyd. Not surprisingly, they used the long ball. Adrian Beltre opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first. Robinson Chirinos went yard to start the third, and then Mike Napoli capped the rally with his own two-run blast.
That was all the support Yovani Gallardo and four Rangers’ relievers needed. Gallardo wasn’t exactly sharp, allowing two runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings, but found a way to escape traffic. Andrew Faulkner, Ross Ohlendorf, Sam Dyson and Shawn Tolleson had a much easier time, allowing just three combined hits the rest of the way. .
Looking ahead to Thursday, the Rangers will send Derek Holland to the hill to face Angels rookie Andrew Heaney. After two injury riddled seasons, that could be a special moment for Holland.
RED SOX PUT YANKEES CELEBRATION ON HOLD
The New York Yankees could have clinched a postseason berth with a victory on Wednesday night. As for the Boston Red Sox, they weren’t having it. Despite being well out of playoff contention, they played spoiler to their arch-rivals for the third straight day, winning 9-5 in 11 innings.
That assured the celebration won’t happen until Thursday at the earliest, though Boston could have a say in rescheduling that as well.
Outfielder Mookie Betts was the star of the show, hitting a pair of clutch home runs. His seventh-inning solo shot against Dellin Betances tied the game and set the stage for extra innings, where Betts would star again. After Deven Marrero and Jackie Bradley Jr. knocked in the go-ahead runs, Betts applied the finishing touches with a two-run homer.
Boston also got a three-run homer from Travis Shaw, which gave them an 3-0 advantage in the first. The Yankees slowly battled back, eventually taking the lead on Alex Rodriguez’s sixth-inning home run. Had that held up as the clincher, it would have been an exclamation point on a remarkable comeback season. It wasn’t meant on this night. Maybe Thursday will tell a different story.
Worth mentioning again, the Blue Jays clinched the AL East on Wednesday. That means the highest the Yankees can go is the top wild card spot. It means they’ll be fighting for their season next Tuesday, but they’ll take it after two seasons on the outside looking in.
ASTROS RALLY TO RECLAIM WILD CARD LEAD
One day after falling out of a postseason spot, the Houston Astros are right back in thanks to a 7-6 win in Seattle.
The Astros had to get off the deck twice to win Wednesday’s rubber match. They brokethrough for three runs in the fifth inning, including Luis Valbuena’s 24th home run, to take their first lead. After Seattle countered with four in the bottom half, Houston came right back with another three in the sixth. This time, Chris Carter did the damage, cracking a game-tying three-run homer.
One inning later, Evan Gattis, the triples machine himself, started the game-winning rally with his 11th of the season. This one was aided by right fielder Brad Miller’s feet going out from under him, which allowed the ball to roll to the wall.
The circumstances aren’t important to the Astros. The results are. One batter later, pinch-runner Jonathan Villar scored on Colby Rasmus’ bloop single, and three innings later the Astros were back in the driver’s seat. Now they head to Arizona with their destiny in their own hands.
ANGELS FALL TO A’S AND BARRY ZITO
The Los Angeles Angels came into Wednesday with a league-best seven-game winning streak and sole possession of the AL’s second wild card spot. Then they ran into Barry Zito, and now all of that has gone away.
Making perhaps his final career start, Zito was solid, posting four innings of two-run ball. He didn’t last long enough to earn the win, but despite allowing solo home runs to Mike Trout and David Freese, he set the pace in Oakland’s eventual 8-7 victory.
Eric Sogard delivered perhaps the biggest hit of the game when cleared the bases with a third-inning double. That gave the A’s their first lead. After the Angels rallied for three in the fifth, Oakland went ahead for good in seventh. Stephen Vogt capped the four-run rally with a two-run single.
The Angels chipped away with solo homers from Carlos Perez and Kole Calhoun in the eighth and ninth innings respectively, but couldn’t cash in the tying run against Sean Doolittle. Now the winning streak is over, and the Angels are back on the wrong side of the wild card standings. Like the Astros though, they still control their own destiny. But the margin for error is getting thinner.
Want to see more from Wednesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
