SB Nation Dallas - Rangers Fall 5-4 To Angels In 11 Inningshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48887/dallas-fave.png2010-10-01T23:46:16-05:00http://dallas.sbnation.com/rss/stream/14886112010-10-01T23:46:16-05:002010-10-01T23:46:16-05:00Rangers Fall To Angels 5-4 In Extras
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<p>(Sports Network) – Juan Rivera hit a solo home run in each of his last two at-bats, including the go-ahead blast in the 11th inning, as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.halosheaven.com/">Los Angeles Angels</a> of Anaheim held on to beat AL West-champion Texas, 5-4, in the continuation of a four-game series.</p>
<p>Rivera’s first home run gave the Angels a 4-2 lead in the ninth, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a> scored two runs off <span>Fernando Rodney</span> in the bottom of the frame to force extras.</p>
<p><span>Jered Weaver</span>, making his final start of the season for the Angels, gave up a pair of solo home runs to <span>Mitch Moreland</span>. The right-hander scattered six hits through seven innings, walked one and struck out four to raise his total to an <span class="caps">MLB</span>-best 233 — one more than Seattle’s <span>Felix Hernandez</span> and two more than San Francisco’s <span>Tim Lincecum</span>.</p>
<p><span>Tommy Hunter</span>, who will start Game 4, if necessary for the Rangers in the <span class="caps">ALDS</span>, allowed a solo home run to <span>Torii Hunter</span> among three hits over five full frames.</p>
<p>Texas outfielder <span>Josh Hamilton</span> went 0-for-3 in his return to the lineup. Hamilton had missed 24 straight games after breaking two ribs while crashing into the wall to make a catch on September 4 in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Down 2-1, the Angels moved ahead in the eighth. <span>Maicer Izturis</span> singled home the go-ahead run and <span>Peter Bourjos</span> preceded Izturis with a game-tying sacrifice fly off Rangers reliever <span>Michael Kirkman</span>.</p>
<p>Rivera extended the lead with a two-out shot to left-center field off <span>Mark Lowe</span>.</p>
<p>Texas took advantage of Rodney’s wildness to tie the game. <span>Ian Kinsler</span> was hit by a pitch and Moreland drew a walk, both with one out. <span>Bengie Molina</span> then hit a grounder off the glove of third baseman <span>Alberto Callaspo</span> to plate Kinsler. One out later, Rodney picked off pinch-runner <span>Esteban German</span> at first. While German was caught in a rundown, Moreland inched his way down the third-base line before jumping over the catcher to score the tying run. Rodney had flipped the ball to the first baseman Rivera, whose throw to the plate was off-target.</p>
<p>With one gone in the 11th, Rivera hammered a 2-0 pitch from <span>Matt Harrison</span> (3-2) over the left-field wall.</p>
<p><span>Bobby Cassevah</span> replaced Rich Thompson (2-0) on the mound for Los Angeles in the bottom of the inning and was promptly lifted after walking Moreland and hitting <span>Taylor Teagarden</span> on a bunt attempt.</p>
<p>With <span>Michael Kohn</span> on the mound, <span>Julio Borbon</span> pulled the bunt back and hit a chopper over a charging Callaspo. However, shortstop <span>Andrew Romine</span> fielded the ball and beat Moreland to the bag at third. Kohn then struck out both <span>Elvis Andrus</span> and <span>Michael Young</span> to end the game and pick up his first career save.</p>
<p>Torii Hunter had staked the Angels to a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Moreland went deep in the fifth and seventh innings to give Texas a one-run edge.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>Rodney blew his seventh save of the season, a new career high…Texas designated hitter <span>Vladimir Guerrero</span> played in his 2,000th game…Ten of the 17 meetings between the Angels and Rangers this season have been one-run games.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/texas-rangers/2010/10/1/1725769/rangers-fall-to-angels-5-4-in-extrasJP Starkey2010-10-01T16:18:03-05:002010-10-01T16:18:03-05:00Josh Hamilton Returns To Lineup, Batting 3rd And Playing Centerfield
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<p>For the first time since September 6th, <span>Josh Hamilton</span> will be taking the field for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Texas Rangers</a>. Hamilton will be <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/aandro/status/26113696916" target="new">batting third in the lineup </a>and will play centerfield for the Rangers as they take on <span>Jered Weaver</span> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.halosheaven.com/">Angels</a> tonight in Arlington.</p>
<p>Hamilton has been out since September 6th with broken ribs.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/texas-rangers/2010/10/1/1725169/josh-hamilton-returns-to-lineup-batting-3rd-and-playing-centerfieldJP Starkey2010-10-01T11:43:12-05:002010-10-01T11:43:12-05:00Rangers Set To Take On Jered Weaver And The Angels
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<p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; line-height: normal;"> </span></p>
<p>(Sports Network) - Texas expects to have American League MVP candidate <span>Josh Hamilton</span> back in the lineup this evening when it continues its regular season- ending four-game set against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.halosheaven.com/">Los Angeles Angels</a> of Anaheim at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a> Ballpark in Arlington.</p>
<p>Manager Ron Washington said the slugger will start and play six innings defensively in either left or center field on Friday, then the team plans to have Hamilton serve as the designated hitter Saturday and return to the field on Sunday.</p>
<p>"Josh is ready to play, so I'm going to play him," Washington said.</p>
<p>Hamilton has not played since September 4 because of two small fractures in his right ribcage that were found in a CT scan last week after initial tests did not reveal the problem.</p>
<p>"I'm fired up," Hamilton said. "I felt like this was a reasonable goal, especially after getting the [anti-inflammatory] injections [10 days ago] and I started feeling better a couple of days after I had them. It's not normal to come back this quick as far as conditioning and stuff like that. You would like to stretch it out a little more. But the circumstances are a little different."</p>
<p>The 29-year-old is batting an MLB-best .361 and ranks sixth in the American League with 31 home runs and is 12th with 97 runs batted in over 130 games.</p>
<p>Texas, which will open ALDS play on Wednesday, continued to tune up for the postseason on Thursday, as <span>Vladimir Guerrero</span> singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Rangers to a 3-2 victory.</p>
<p>Guerrero drove in a pair of runs and Nelson Cruz went 3-for-4 and scored twice, including the decisive run, for the Rangers, who have won two in a row and five out of seven to take an 11-game lead in the AL West for the first time in franchise history.</p>
<p>Darren O'Day (6-2) gave up the tying run in the top of the eighth but picked up the win and <span>Neftali Feliz</span> locked down his 39th save with a scoreless ninth.</p>
<p>Rookie hurler <span>Jordan Walden</span> (0-1), who grew up in the Dallas area, took the loss in his lone inning of work for the Angels, who had sandwiched a four-game slide with three-game win streaks entering the series.</p>
<p>Rangers starter <span>Cliff Lee</span> yielded a lone unearned run on four hits without a walk while striking out eight over seven frames and turned over a 2-1 lead to Darren O'Day in the eighth.</p>
<p>"There's no added pressure, no extra pressure," Lee said regarding the upcoming postseason. "I just want to go out there and do what I do. If everything's where I need it to be and I'm right mechanically and able to make pitches, then I expect to have success."</p>
<p>Heading to the hill for the Rangers tonight will be <span>Tommy Hunter</span>, who was recently named the team's fourth starter for the playoffs. Despite making his season debut on June 5, Hunter is 13-4 with a 3.80 ERA.</p>
<p>Hunter lost to the Angels the last time he faced them and is 1-3 in four starts against them with a 10.26 ERA.</p>
<p>Anaheim, meanwhile, will counter with righty <span>Jered Weaver</span>, who is trying to win the strikeout title. Weaver enters tonight's tilt with 229 strikeouts, leaving him three behind Seattle ace <span>Felix Hernandez</span>, who is done for the season.</p>
<p>Weaver, who is 7-4 lifetime against the Rangers, is 13-12 on the year with a 3.02 ERA.</p>
<p>The Rangers have won nine of 16 matchups with Anaheim this season, including a 6-1 ledger in the Lone Star State.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/2010/10/1/2321885/rangers-set-to-take-on-jered-weaver-and-the-angelsJP Starkey