Ian Kinsler gave the Rangers their first lead in seven games when he hammered the first pitch of the ball game into the bleachers at Tropicana Field. Texas never looked back.
Alexi Ogando held the one-run lead until the offense added four more runs in the third. Another in the fifth and one more in the ninth accounted for the 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. That brings both teams back into a tie for the American League Wild Card.
Kinsler and Elvis Andrus, shown here on card 153 of the 2012 Bowman set, accounted for six of the seven Rangers RBI with Leonys Martin grabbing the seventh one on his solo shot homer in the ninth inning.
Elvis gets the card of the day though in recognition of his two-run blast in the third - just his third home run of the year. Kind ironic for a hitter known for his speed rather than power to launch one in the notoriously hitter-hostile dome.
Very glad to finally see a win again. Of course Oakland also won and Texas is still 6.5 games out of first. Getting the West title is not going to happen barring a miracle. From that perspective the win is too little too late. What they are playing for now is home-field advantage in the one-game Wild Card playoff. Maybe last night's game will light a spark that carries them through that game and into the Division Series.
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