Rangers move closer to AL West crown, beat Angels in 12
Jeff Francoeur scored the go-ahead run on passed ball in the top of the 12th inning, as the Texas Rangers inched closer to a postseason berth with a 2-1 win over the Angels to avoid a three-game sweep.
Francoeur doubled off Matt Palmer (1-2) to begin the 12th, snapping a string of 16 batters in a row retired by Los Angeles pitching. After Chris Davis walked, Bengie Molina sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Palmer then struck out pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland, but Francoeur scampered home when a pitch to Julio Borbon couldn't be reeled in by catcher Jeff Mathis.
Neftali Feliz was flawless in the bottom of the inning to earn his 37th save of the season and match the major league record for a rookie set by the Mariners' Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000.
The win snapped a three-game skid for Texas, which lowered its magic number to clinching its first AL West title since 1999 to four after the Athletics lost to the Chicago White Sox earlier Wednesday. The Rangers open a four-game series in Oakland on Thursday. Read more Texas Rangers news on 1053thefan.com
