The Rangers entered the day five games ahead of the Angels and toting a magic number of four. A win by LA put the pressure on, since Texas doesn’t want to enter their final series in Anaheim needing wins to clinch the division. They answered the bell, salvaging their eighth win in nine games on the strength of late home runs by Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler.
C.J. Wilson lasted six innings and allowed two runs but was on the hook for a loss until the pair of solo shots in the eighth. Koji Uehara, Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz finished the job with three scoreless innings, and the Rangers moved their magic number to three with seven games remaining.
Wilson also struck out eight to raise his season total to 206, the first time a Rangers pitcher has surpassed 200 strikeouts since Nolan Ryan in 1991. The club also notched their 90th win, matching their 2010 total.