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A late-season series between the Texas Rangers and the Anaheim Angels sure looked a lot juicier in April than it does on Sept. 18, with the first-place Rangers going into Tuesday night's opener of the three-game series up 7.5 games on third-place Anaheim in the AL West.
Still, the Angels (80-67) have a shot at the postseason through the Wild Card if not a miraculous comeback in the division, and they'll send ace Jered Weaver to the hill at home to keep their hopes alive. Anaheim is three games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the second and final Wild Card spot.
Texas (87-59) will counter with Ryan Dempster, and the Rangers still find themselves with plenty to play for while trying to hold off the surprising Oakland Athletics for the division lead. The WIld Card-leading A's are just three back of Texas in the West.
The game from Angel Stadium starts at 9:05 CT (7:05 PT) and can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest locally. MLB Network will carry the game regionally across the rest of the country.
Read more about the Rangers at Lone Star Ball and SB Nation Dallas. Follow the Angels at Halos Heaven and SB Nation Los Angeles. Keep up with the latest on the playoff chase at Baseball Nation, and be sure to subscribe to SB Nation on YouTube: