GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (92-64) at TEXAS (72-84)

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Vazquez at third base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 7
TEXAS 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: H Kendrick (.326, 2-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - PITCHING CHANGE
TEX: WES LITTLETON (3-2, 4.47) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 7, TEXAS 8

DUE UP FOR LAANGELS: H KENDRICK (.326, 2-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: W Littleton relieved M Wood.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 7
TEXAS 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: H Kendrick (.326, 2-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: E Aybar hit for M Napoli.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 7
TEXAS 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: E Aybar (.235, 0 HR, 16 RBI)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 7 7 0
TEXAS 1 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 x 8 12 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - ERVIN SANTANA, CHRIS BOOTCHECK (6TH), JASON BULGER (7TH), RICH
THOMPSON (8TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

TEX - ARMANDO GALARRAGA, BILL WHITE (5TH), FRANK
FRANCISCO (7TH), MIKE WOOD (8TH), WES LITTLETON (9TH) AND
GERALD LAIRD

HOME RUNS: LAA - CASEY KOTCHMAN (11) OFF ARMANDO GALARRAGA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON

TEX - MICHAEL YOUNG (9) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 3RD, 2 ON
MARLON BYRD (10) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 7 7 0
TEXAS 1 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 x 8 12 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - ERVIN SANTANA, CHRIS BOOTCHECK (6TH), JASON BULGER (7TH), RICH
THOMPSON (8TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

TEX - ARMANDO GALARRAGA, BILL WHITE (5TH), FRANK
FRANCISCO (7TH), MIKE WOOD (8TH), WES LITTLETON (9TH) AND
GERALD LAIRD


WP - BILL WHITE (2-0)
LP - ERVIN SANTANA (7-14)
SAVE - WES LITTLETON (2)

HOME RUNS: LAA - CASEY KOTCHMAN (11) OFF ARMANDO GALARRAGA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON

TEX - MICHAEL YOUNG (9) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 3RD, 2 ON
MARLON BYRD (10) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:06 ATT: 22,881

PROBABLES: LAA - KELVIM ESCOBAR (17-7, 3.46)
TEX - BRANDON MCCARTHY (5-10, 4.87)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">LA ANGELS (7) VS TEXAS (8) - FINAL

LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Figgins rf 4 0 0 1 0 2 2 .341
O Cabrera ss 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 .305
C Kotchman dh 2 2 1 2 2 0 0 .297
K Morales 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .299
G Matthews Jr cf 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .254
J Rivera lf 3 1 1 2 1 0 2 .226
N Haynes pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
M Izturis 3b 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .288
H Kendrick 2b 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 .325
M Napoli c 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .246
a-E Aybar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233

Totals 30 7 7 7 6 6 13

a-flied out to left for M Napoli in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - H Kendrick (24, A Galarraga); J Rivera (1, M Wood). HR - C
Kotchman (11, 5th inning off A Galarraga 1 on, 2 Out). SF - C Figgins. RBI - H
Kendrick (39), C Figgins (58), O Cabrera (86), C Kotchman 2 (68), J Rivera 2
(7). 2-out RBI - O Cabrera, C Kotchman 2, J Rivera 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Izturis 1, H Kendrick 2. GIDP - J Rivera. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - G Matthews Jr (18, 3rd base off A Galarraga/G Laird), M
Izturis (7, 2nd base off A Galarraga/G Laird). CS - C Kotchman (3, 2nd base by
A Galarraga/G Laird), H Kendrick (4, 2nd base by F Francisco/G Laird).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (H Kendrick-K Morales).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
I Kinsler 2b 4 1 1 0 1 2 1 .263
G Laird c 5 3 3 0 0 2 2 .223
M Young ss 4 1 2 4 0 0 3 .313
M Byrd cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 .308
H Blalock dh 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 .296
J Botts lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .228
D Murphy lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .356
N Cruz rf 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .237
J Saltalamacchia 1b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .250
B Wilkerson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
T Metcalf 3b 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .235
F Guzman pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
R Vazquez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235

Totals 34 8 12 8 4 10 14

BATTING: 2B - G Laird (17, E Santana); H Blalock (16, E Santana). 3B - G Laird
(3, E Santana); J Saltalamacchia (1, C Bootcheck). HR - M Young (9, 3rd inning
off E Santana 2 on, 0 Out), M Byrd (10, 5th inning off E Santana 1 on, 1 Out).
RBI - M Young 4 (90), M Byrd 2 (68), T Metcalf (17), N Cruz (31). 2-out RBI - N
Cruz. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Young 1, J Botts 1, N Cruz 1.
Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: CS - F Guzman (1, 2nd base by R Thompson/M Napoli).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (G Laird-M Young, I Kinsler-M Young-J Saltalamacchia).


----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 050 020 -- 7
TEXAS - 103 021 10x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
E Santana (L, 7-14) 5 8 6 6 2 4 2 5.80
C Bootcheck 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 4.74
J Bulger 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 2.84
R Thompson 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 6.00

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
A Galarraga 4 2/3 4 5 5 4 4 1 6.23
B White (W, 2-0) 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.14
F Francisco (H, 19) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.63
M Wood (H, 3) 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 5.04
W Littleton (S, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.37

WP - J Bulger. Pitches-strikes: E Santana 102-60; C Bootcheck 31-19; J Bulger
21-12; R Thompson 14-6; A Galarraga 87-48; B White 18-10; F Francisco 18-11; M
Wood 21-11; W Littleton 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: E Santana 4-6; C
Bootcheck 0-1; J Bulger 1-0; R Thompson 0-0; A Galarraga 4-5; B White 3-1; F
Francisco 0-1; M Wood 2-1; W Littleton 1-1. Batters faced: E Santana 24; C
Bootcheck 6; J Bulger 5; R Thompson 3; A Galarraga 21; B White 4; F Francisco
3; M Wood 6; W Littleton 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Jim Joyce. 1B--Jeff Nelson. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--Tim Tschida.

T--3:06. Att--22,881.
Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, in from
center.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
LA ANGELS 7
TEXAS 8 FINAL</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (7) AT TEXAS (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TEXAS 1ST: I Kinsler flied out to center. G Laird doubled to deep left.
M Young singled to center, G Laird scored. M Byrd flied out to right. H Blalock
walked, M Young to second. J Botts grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: I Kinsler singled to left. G Laird singled to right, I Kinsler
to third. M Young homered to center, I Kinsler and G Laird scored. M Byrd
struck out looking. H Blalock doubled to center. J Botts struck out swinging.
N Cruz flied out to center. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 4.

LA ANGELS 5TH: J Rivera walked. M Izturis singled to right, J Rivera to
third. H Kendrick doubled to deep left, J Rivera scored, M Izturis to third.
M Napoli struck out swinging. C Figgins hit sacrifice fly to left, M Izturis
scored. O Cabrera singled to left, H Kendrick scored. C Kotchman homered to
right, O Cabrera scored. B White relieved A Galarraga. K Morales grounded out
to second. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 5TH: G Laird tripled to deep right center. M Young grounded out to
first. M Byrd homered to left, G Laird scored. H Blalock walked. J Botts
lined into double play, second to first, H Blalock doubled off first.(2 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 6TH: C Bootcheck relieved E Santana. N Cruz struck out looking.
J Saltalamacchia tripled to deep right center. T Metcalf singled to right,
J Saltalamacchia scored. I Kinsler walked, T Metcalf to second. G Laird struck
out swinging. M Young flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 7.

TEXAS 7TH: J Bulger relieved C Bootcheck. M Byrd grounded out to second.
H Blalock singled to center. H Blalock to second on wild pitch by J Bulger.
J Botts struck out looking. N Cruz singled to center, H Blalock scored.
J Saltalamacchia struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5,
TEXAS 8.

LA ANGELS 8TH: D Murphy in left field. B Wilkerson at first base. M Wood
relieved F Francisco. O Cabrera reached on infield single to shortstop.
C Kotchman walked, O Cabrera to second. K Morales flied out to left. G Matthews
Jr grounded out to second, O Cabrera to third, C Kotchman to second. J Rivera
doubled to deep right center, O Cabrera and C Kotchman scored. M Izturis
grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 7, TEXAS 8.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (7) AT TEXAS (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La Angels Starting Lineups -- C Figgins RF, O Cabrera SS, C Kotchman DH,
K Morales 1B, G Matthews Jr CF, J Rivera LF, M Izturis 3B, H Kendrick 2B,
M Napoli C, E Santana RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- I Kinsler 2B, G Laird C, M Young SS, M Byrd CF,
H Blalock DH, J Botts LF, N Cruz RF, J Saltalamacchia 1B, T Metcalf 3B,
A Galarraga RHP.

Umpires -- Jim Joyce (HP), Jeff Nelson (1B), Jim Wolf (2B), Tim Tschida (3B).


Gametime Weather: 89 degrees, Clear, wind in from center at 12 mph.


LA ANGELS 1ST: C Figgins grounded out to shortstop. O Cabrera grounded out
to shortstop. C Kotchman grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: I Kinsler flied out to center. G Laird doubled to deep left.
M Young singled to center, G Laird scored. M Byrd flied out to right. H Blalock
walked, M Young to second. J Botts grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 1.

LA ANGELS 2ND: K Morales grounded out to second. G Matthews Jr walked.
J Rivera flied out to right. M Izturis walked, G Matthews Jr to second.
G Matthews Jr stole third, M Izturis stole second. H Kendrick struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 2ND: N Cruz grounded out to second. J Saltalamacchia struck out
swinging. T Metcalf lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
TEXAS 1.

LA ANGELS 3RD: M Napoli flied out to right. C Figgins flied out to center.
O Cabrera struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: I Kinsler singled to left. G Laird singled to right, I Kinsler
to third. M Young homered to center, I Kinsler and G Laird scored. M Byrd
struck out looking. H Blalock doubled to center. J Botts struck out swinging.
N Cruz flied out to center. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 4.

LA ANGELS 4TH: C Kotchman walked. K Morales struck out swinging.
C Kotchman caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. G Matthews Jr flied out
to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 4TH: J Saltalamacchia grounded out to first. T Metcalf popped out to
second. I Kinsler struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
TEXAS 4.

LA ANGELS 5TH: J Rivera walked. M Izturis singled to right, J Rivera to
third. H Kendrick doubled to deep left, J Rivera scored, M Izturis to third.
M Napoli struck out swinging. C Figgins hit sacrifice fly to left, M Izturis
scored. O Cabrera singled to left, H Kendrick scored. C Kotchman homered to
right, O Cabrera scored. B White relieved A Galarraga. K Morales grounded out
to second. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 5TH: G Laird tripled to deep right center. M Young grounded out to
first. M Byrd homered to left, G Laird scored. H Blalock walked. J Botts
lined into double play, second to first, H Blalock doubled off first.(2 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 6.

LA ANGELS 6TH: G Matthews Jr walked. J Rivera grounded into double play,
second to shortstop to first, G Matthews Jr out at second. M Izturis flied out
to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 6TH: C Bootcheck relieved E Santana. N Cruz struck out looking.
J Saltalamacchia tripled to deep right center. T Metcalf singled to right,
J Saltalamacchia scored. I Kinsler walked, T Metcalf to second. G Laird struck
out swinging. M Young flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 5, TEXAS 7.

LA ANGELS 7TH: F Francisco relieved B White. H Kendrick singled to center.
M Napoli flied out to right. C Figgins struck out swinging. H Kendrick caught
stealing second, catcher to second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5,
TEXAS 7.

TEXAS 7TH: J Bulger relieved C Bootcheck. M Byrd grounded out to second.
H Blalock singled to center. H Blalock to second on wild pitch by J Bulger.
J Botts struck out looking. N Cruz singled to center, H Blalock scored.
J Saltalamacchia struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5,
TEXAS 8.

LA ANGELS 8TH: D Murphy in left field. B Wilkerson at first base. M Wood
relieved F Francisco. O Cabrera reached on infield single to shortstop.
C Kotchman walked, O Cabrera to second. K Morales flied out to left. G Matthews
Jr grounded out to second, O Cabrera to third, C Kotchman to second. J Rivera
doubled to deep right center, O Cabrera and C Kotchman scored. M Izturis
grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 7, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 8TH: N Haynes in left field. R Thompson relieved J Bulger. T Metcalf
walked. F Guzman ran for T Metcalf. F Guzman caught stealing second, catcher
to second to first. I Kinsler struck out swinging. G Laird struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 7, TEXAS 8.

LA ANGELS 9TH: R Vazquez at third base. W Littleton relieved M Wood.
H Kendrick grounded out to second. E Aybar hit for M Napoli. E Aybar flied out
to left. C Figgins struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 7,
TEXAS 8.</div>

 

Trio of Young, Laird and Bryd helps Rangers hold off Angels

<h3>TEXAS 8, LA ANGELS 7</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- The Texas Rangers managed to holdon to their second big lead of the game to defeat the Los AngelesAngels of Anaheim, 8-7, Monday night.


Michael Young continued his career-long mastery over Angelsstarter Ervin Santana as he drove in four runs, including athree-run home run in the third inning that put Texas up 4-0.

Young is now batting .464 (13-for-28) with two home runs andeight RBI over his career against Santana.


Gerald Laird had three hits and finished a homer shy of thecycle for the Rangers, while Marlon Byrd contributed thego-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning.


One night after clinching the American League West title, theAngels made a valiant comeback attempt from two differentthree-run deficits, inching to within a run with a two-run rallyin the eighth, but fell for just their third loss in their lasteight games.


Texas starter Armando Galarraga made his first career startafter making two previous relief appearances, and was impressiveearly. He did not allow a hit until Maicer Izturis singled toright in the fifth inning. However, that single sparked afive-run frame that erased a four-run Texas lead.


With the Rangers leading, 4-0, Galarraga walked Juan Rivera tolead off the fifth, then gave up a single to Izturis. HowieKendrick followed with a double to left that rolled to the wall,scoring Rivera. One batter later, Chone Figgins hit asacrifice fly and Orlando Cabrera laced a single to left toscore Kendrick to tie the game at 4-4.


Casey Kotchman then launched a 3-2 pitch just over the wall inright field to put Los Angeles ahead, 5-4. The two-run shot wasKotchman's 11th home run of the season and enabled Cabrera torecord his career-high 100th run.


Galarraga was pulled after that, lasting 4 2/3 innings whilegiving up five runs on four hits, with four walks and fourstrikeouts.


But Texas came right back in the bottom of the inning, Lairdtripled into the gap in right-center and Byrd smashed hiscareer-high 10th homer to left to make it 6-5.


Bill White (2-0) threw 1 1/3 hitless innings to pick up the win.

Anaheim, which is still vying for home field advantage in theplayoffs, rallied in the eighth. Cabrera reached on an infieldsingle and Kotchman walked. Both came around to score on adouble by Rivera to cut the lead to 8-7, but that was as closeas the Angels got.


Mike Wood managed to hold the lead and Wes Littleton then threwa scoreless ninth for his second save.


Meanwhile, Santana (7-14) left after allowing six runs and eighthits in five innings, and fell to 1-10 on the road.

The Rangers added a run in the sixth off Chris Bootcheck, asJarrod Saltalamacchia tripled and scored on Travis Metcalf'ssingle to right.


They tacked on another in the seventh when Hank Blalock singledand advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then came around toscore on Nelson Cruz's RBI single to make it a three-run lead at8-5.


Texas got to Santana in the first inning, as Laird clubbed adouble that one-hopped the wall in left field, followed byYoung's RBI single up the middle.

 

AL: LA ANGELS at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 7 7 0
TEXAS 1 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 x 8 12 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - ERVIN SANTANA, CHRIS BOOTCHECK (6TH), JASON BULGER (7TH), RICH
THOMPSON (8TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

TEX - ARMANDO GALARRAGA, BILL WHITE (5TH), FRANK
FRANCISCO (7TH), MIKE WOOD (8TH), WES LITTLETON (9TH) AND
GERALD LAIRD


WP - BILL WHITE (2-0)
LP - ERVIN SANTANA (7-14)
SAVE - WES LITTLETON (2)

HOME RUNS: LAA - CASEY KOTCHMAN (11) OFF ARMANDO GALARRAGA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON

TEX - MICHAEL YOUNG (9) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 3RD, 2 ON
MARLON BYRD (10) OFF ERVIN SANTANA IN THE 5TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:06 ATT: 22,881

PROBABLES: LAA - DUSTIN MOSELEY (4-3, 4.60)
TEX - BRANDON MCCARTHY (5-10, 4.87)</div>

 

Trio of Young, Laird and Byrd helps Rangers hold off Angels

<h3>TEXAS 8, LA ANGELS 7</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) - The Texas Rangers managed to hold onto their second big lead of the game to defeat the Los AngelesAngels of Anaheim, 8-7, on Monday night.


Michael Young continued his career-long mastery over Angelsstarter Ervin Santana as he drove in four runs, including athree-run home run in the third inning that put Texas up, 4-0.

Young is now batting .464 (13-for-28) with two home runs andeight RBI over his career against Santana.


Gerald Laird had three hits and finished a homer shy of thecycle for the Rangers, while Marlon Byrd contributed thego-ahead, two-run home run in the fifth inning.


"Yeah, it crosses your mind, it's just something that would bespecial to do," Laird said after striking out twice with achance for the cycle.


"It's always something you want to do. It would have been nice.I got a fastball on my fourth at-bat and I just fouled itstraight back and I was like, 'Oh, that was your shot.' But Ihad a good night, we won and that was the most important thing."

One night after clinching the American League West title, theAngels made a valiant comeback attempt from two differentthree-run deficits, inching to within a run with a two-run rallyin the eighth, but fell to just their third loss in their lasteight games.


Texas starter Armando Galarraga made his first career startafter making two previous relief appearances, and was impressiveearly. He did not allow a hit until Maicer Izturis singled toright in the fifth inning. However, that single sparked afive-run frame that erased a four-run Texas lead.


"For four innings, he had a no-hitter," Rangers manager RonWashington said. "That's a feat right there with that team, theway they put the ball in play, the way they move runners andthe way they make things happen, so he accomplished somethingright there. We were trying to get him through the fifth andwere hoping to get him out of there with the lead, but it didn'thappen that way."


With the Rangers leading, 4-0, Galarraga walked Juan Rivera tolead off the fifth and gave up a single to Izturis. HowieKendrick followed with a double to left that rolled to the wall,scoring Rivera. One batter later, Chone Figgins hit asacrifice fly and Orlando Cabrera laced a single to left toscore Kendrick to tie the game at 4-4.


Casey Kotchman then launched a 3-2 pitch just over the wall inright field to put Los Angeles ahead, 5-4. The two-run shot wasKotchman's 11th home run of the season and enabled Cabrera torecord his career-high 100th run.


Galarraga was pulled after that, lasting 4 2/3 innings whilegiving up five runs on four hits, with four walks and fourstrikeouts.


But Texas came right back in the bottom of the inning. Lairdtripled into the gap in right-center and Byrd smashed hiscareer-high 10th homer to left to make it 6-5.


"We had a lead and they came back and put a five-spot up andactually took the wind out of our sails, and to come back thatinning and get a guy on and Byrdy pop one out of the ballparkgot the momentum back on our side," Laird said.


Bill White (2-0) threw 1 1/3 hitless innings to pick up the win.

Anaheim, which is still vying for home-field advantage in theplayoffs, rallied in the eighth. Cabrera reached on an infieldsingle and Kotchman walked. Both came around to score on adouble by Rivera to cut the lead to 8-7, but that was as closeas the Angels got.


Mike Wood managed to hold the lead and Wes Littleton threw ascoreless ninth for his second save.


Meanwhile, Santana (7-14) left after allowing six runs and eighthits in five innings. He fell to 1-10 on the road.

"Nobody's happy about losing a game anytime," Angels managerMike Scioscia said. "After you take the lead, or after youscore a run, keep momentum. It's important for that pitcher toput up a zero, and we weren't able to do it."


"I still don't feel good that we lost the game, but my pitcheswere there, my velocity was there," said Santana, who is now 1-4with an 8.92 ERA in seven career starts in Texas. "There weresome pitches that weren't where I wanted, and that hurt me.Nobody's perfect, I don't feel that's a step back at all."

The Rangers added a run in the sixth off Chris Bootcheck, asJarrod Saltalamacchia tripled and scored on Travis Metcalf'ssingle to right.


"Metcalf had a good at-bat, put the ball in play and that wasthe difference right there," Washington said. "That's a prettygood team, they don't ever stop. We got the runs we needed andit took eight to do it."


They tacked on another in the seventh when Hank Blalock singledand advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then came around toscore on Nelson Cruz's RBI single to make it a three-run lead at8-5.


Texas got to Santana in the first inning. Laird clubbed adouble that one-hopped the wall in left field, followed byYoung's RBI single up the middle.