AL West champion Rangers ready for postseason

Davis entered Friday’s game with 40 home runs, 10 of those against Texas.

They lowered their magic number to two to clinch a playoff berth. Fanning two-hole hitter Ian Desmond for the first of his eventual three strikeouts, he worked a ideal first on just seven pitches.

The Rangers offense was being shut out themselves through six innings.

Sean Rodriguez struck out and Stallings, a son of University of Pittsburgh basketball coach Kevin Stallings, grounded a 3-2 pitch into left field. “Hard to describe unless you’re there every day, but everyone would rather go to work where you love the people that you’re working with, you enjoy the culture, the camaraderie, and we’re fortunate that’s what we got right now”.

Carlos Gomez broke up the ideal game with a single, then Adrian Beltre hit a home run later in the inning to seal the deal. “We play with a lot of passion, and that’s what it’s all about; that’s what makes us good”. “I was lucky enough to put a good swing on it”, he said.

While ace left-hander Cole Hamels (15-5), Friday night’s victor, will get one more start ahead of taking the ball Game 1 of the AL Division Series, Banister had not discussed the schedule with his All-Star pitcher yet. Last year, he threw a three-hitter in the final game of the regular season to beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Hamels struck out seven and allowed no walks in seven innings of six-hit ball in what for him was an important bounce-back after allowing 21 earned run in 18 innings over his previous four starts. “That just goes to show what kind of organization this is”.

Matt Bush replaced Hamels in the 8th inning, retiring the side in order including two strikeouts.

“It feels really good”. After a grounder was just out of the reach of Elvis Andrus glove up the middle, Cole Hamels and the rest of the Texas Rangers bench were forced to be patient and wait a bit longer before storming the field. “Last year was a little hard the way everything ended up, especially for myself, but I tried to use it to motivate me, and that’s what I did all off-season”. As has been the case so many times over the past five years, though, Adrian Beltre gave Texas what it needed to beat the A’s (66-87) and claim its second straight division crown. Texas recalled LHP Andrew Faulkner from Triple-A Round Rock and activated RHP Jeremy Jeffress from the restricted list following his stint of more than three weeks in a rehab clinic.

Rangers: OF Shin-Soo Choo took batting practice for the first time since going on the disabled list August 16 with a left forearm fracture. Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo (fractured left forearm) took batting practice Friday and said he hopes to return to action during the Rangers’ final regular-season series against Tampa Bay on September 30-Oct.2. Oakland announced INF Arismendy Alcantara would miss the remainder of the season due to a sprained thumb. 3. NY was shut out for the second straight night and lost for the ninth time in 12 games. Yu Darvish also was scheduled to start once more after his outing Saturday afternoon at Oakland. Cardinals’ right-hander Corey Baker, who spent the majority of his season in Double-A Springfield, led the charge against Brazil with five innings of one-hit ball, permitting three walks and striking out six.