ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― The Texas Rangers had to keep winning to keep playing. After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs.
Craig Gentry had a key two-run single, Geovany Soto had a tiebreaking RBI double and a solo homer, and the Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Sunday to force a one-game tiebreaker for the second AL wild-card spot.
“They showed heart, fight, gut ― any other adjective you want to find,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
The Rangers (91-71), who began September with the AL West lead before a 5-15 slide, added game No. 163 to the regular season.
They will host Tampa Bay on Monday night in baseball’s first wild-card tiebreaker since 2007.
The winner plays two days later at wild-card leader Cleveland for a berth against Boston in the division series.
Marlins give Alvarez no-no
MIAMI (AP) ― With the bases loaded, two outs and the score 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Henderson Alvarez stood in the Miami Marlins’ on-deck circle, bat in hand, hoping to complete his no-hitter.
Alvarez had blanked the Detroit Tigers for nine innings ― and briefly, mistakenly thought he had pitched a no-hitter. But the Marlins needed a run for him to achieve the feat.
Giancarlo Stanton crossed the plate standing up when a breaking ball skipped to the backstop, and Alvarez had his no-hitter, beating the Tigers on the final day of the regular season Sunday, 1-0.
