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Reader Chris Campbell reminded me on Twitter of the controversial Oakland-Cleveland game from May. You remember that one? That was the game when Adam Rosales hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning off Chris Perez. Except the umps missed it. Even with the aid of instant replay, Angel Hernandez, the crew chief that day, failed to see what everyone else saw: Rosales' ball clear the fence.

Rosales was awarded a double and Cleveland held on to win 4-3. As Oakland manager Bob Melvin said in his postgame screed, "Inclusive ... to the only four people in the ballpark who could say it was inclusive. Everybody else said it was a home run. ... I'm at a complete loss." (Here's the video of Melvin and the home run/double.)

Well, the ramifications of that game are really being felt now -- although, keep in mind Oakland wouldn't have necessarily won since Rosales' hit would have just tied the game.

The Indians, of course, are just a game ahead of the Rangers for the second wild card. Turn that game into a loss and they're tied. The A's are two games behind the Red Sox and one ahead of the Tigers in the standings, so the playoff seedings could potentially be affected, as well.

If the Rangers do fall one game short, the Indians should send a playoff share to Hernandez.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's Friday, so let's take a look at who's trending up and who's trending down in Texas.

STOCK UP

Starting rotation: Texas starters have gone 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA over the last 10 games, a stretch in which the Rangers have a 7-3 record to stay alive in the wild-card race. The strong run at the end of the season has dropped the rotation's season ERA from 4.12 to 3.98. The Rangers have the lowest starters' ERA in the majors in that span, a full run ahead of Cleveland.

Elvis Andrus: Andrus went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Thursday's 6-5 win as he continues to be the Rangers' most consistent offensive player in September. Andrus is batting .321 for the month with 18 RBIs, tied for second most in the American League behind only Oakland's Yoenis Cespedes. It's the highest monthly RBI total of Andrus' career. He also takes a 13-game hitting streak against the Los Angeles Angels into Friday's game.

Craig Gentry: Gentry is getting the everyday start in left field down the stretch and is making the most of it. Gentry, who has started the last six games, was 3-for-4 in Thursday's game. He is 12-for-25 in the last seven games and has scored a run in four straight. He had a season-high four hits and matched a career-best with three stolen bases Thursday at Tampa Bay.

STOCK DOWN

Infield defense: At least for one inning, Mitch Moreland, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre deserve to be ranked down. They combined for four errors in the top of the second inning Thursday night, leading to three runs as the Rangers fell behind 3-1. The infield had been excellent coming into the game, making four errors in the last 18 games.

The Rangers' luck: Texas has won four straight games and hasn't gained any ground in the wild-card race. Tampa Bay and Cleveland both take seven-game winning streaks into Friday's games. Jason Giambi's two-run pinch-hit homer stands as the biggest hit of the week, rallying the Indians over the White Sox on Tuesday night.

Neftali Feliz: It's really by process of elimination, but Feliz still has to establish after Tommy John surgery that he can be counted on in crucial moments. Feliz's four-pitch walk Friday night said he might not be ready. The Rangers lost that game, 2-1. It's by no means a knock on Feliz. He's still getting back to where he was before the injury.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- So how unlikely was Jurickson Profar's walk-off home run Thursday night?

Only once in major league history has a player hit a pinch-hit, walk-off homer before turning 21 years old. That player was future Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx, who did it in 1928 while pinch hitting for another future Hall of Famer, Mickey Cochrane.

Eighty-five years later, the 20-year-old phenom Profar kept the Rangers' playoff hopes alive with a walk-off home run to beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5. The Rangers stay a game behind Cleveland and two behind Tampa Bay in the wild-card race with three games left.

Unbelievable.

Profar hasn't been much of a factor lately. His last start came Sept. 18 against Tampa Bay when he failed to turn a double play and the Rays' next hitter, Sean Rodriguez, tied the game with a home run. The Rays went on to win that game, 3-2, in 12 innings in what was probably the Rangers' most crushing loss of the season.

(Not pinning that loss on Profar. There were other contributing factors, but ...)

Profar pinch hit Monday in a 12-0 victory over Houston. He's had only 14 at-bats since Sept. 8. He'd become a bit of an afterthought.

He got his chance to be a factor in the playoff race Thursday. The youngest player in the majors crushed the third pitch he saw down the right-field line for a game-winning home run.

Who will be the Rangers' hero Friday night?

WHAT'S UP NOW: Rapid Reaction from the Rangers' 6-5 victory over the Angels. Jean-Jacques Taylor opines on Profar's walk-off homer. Plus, the Rangers overcame a four-error inning to survive Thursday night.

ON DECK: In what could be the toughest game to win of the four-game series, right-hander Alexi Ogando tries to stay hot against Angels lefty and former teammate C.J. Wilson at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Who will lose first, Cleveland or Tampa Bay?

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Consider this: The Rangers overcame the worst inning of defense in franchise history Thursday night to stay alive in a wild American League wild-card race.

Isn't baseball fun?

The night ended with a celebration at home plate after pinch hitter Jurickson Profar delivered a walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth. It vaulted the Rangers to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels and helped them keep pace in the wild-card standings, a game behind the Cleveland Indians and two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rangers got another clutch hit from Leonys Martin, and closer Joe Nathan kept the score tied going into the bottom of the ninth by getting two strikeouts with the go-ahead run at third base in the top half of the inning.

Way before that, the Rangers coughed up a 3-1 lead with four errors in the top of the second. It was the most errors a Texas team has made in an inning in 41 years in Arlington.

One by Mitch Moreland. Two by Ian Kinsler, on the same play. And one by Adrian Beltre.

For some reason, Elvis Andrus forgot to make one for the infield cycle.

The Angels scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead, taking advantage of the first time a team has made four errors in an inning of an American League game since 2007.

The Rangers could have been left in tatters, especially after they grounded into double plays in the fourth and fifth innings with the tying run on third base.

Instead, they found a way to pull out a massive win. They found a way to make a four-error inning a mere footnote to Thursday's game.

(Read full post)

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jurickson Profar saved the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.

Profar, pinch hitting in the bottom of the ninth, delivered a thunderbolt for the Rangers with a no-doubt-about-it home run to right field for a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers have won four straight games at home against the Angels on walk-off homers.

Texas kept pace in the American League wild-card race, remaining two games behind Tampa Bay and one game behind Cleveland.

Escape artist: The Rangers dodged a major bullet in the top of the ninth. Neal Cotts got ahead of Josh Hamilton 0-2 to start the inning but walked him. It was Hamilton's fifth walk in 134 at-bats. Howie Kendrick then failed on two attempts to get down a bunt, but Hamilton still went to second base on Joe Nathan's wild pitch. Kendrick moved Hamilton to third on a ground ball to second. Nathan somehow escaped. He struck out Kole Calhoun and Mark Trumbo to get out of the inning and keep the game tied at 5.

Martin is clutch again: Leonys Martin is saving the Rangers in his first full season in the big leagues. He had a go-ahead bases-clearing double in Wednesday's 7-3 victory. With the Rangers trailing 4-3 on Thursday night and having hit into two double plays to kill rallies in the fourth and fifth innings, Martin came up with a clutch two-out double with two runners on base to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth.

Scheppers gives up lead: The Rangers had a chance at two shutdown innings, keeping their opponent off the board in the half-inning after they had scored, and failed both times. It was more surprising when Tanner Scheppers couldn't get it done in the top of the seventh. After the Rangers took the lead on Martin's hit, Scheppers allowed a leadoff triple to Calhoun and an RBI single to Trumbo, who broke out of an 0-for-25 slump by getting three hits on Thursday night.

Defensive futility: The Rangers had the worst defensive inning in franchise history in the biggest game of the 2013 season. Enough said. Leading 3-1 in the top of the second, Matt Garza got the first two outs, and then his infield completely let him down. First baseman Mitch Moreland booted a routine ground ball to extend the inning. After J.B. Shuck singled, the Rangers appeared to be out of the inning when Erick Aybar hit a grounder right at Ian Kinsler at second base. Kinsler let the ground ball roll through his legs, then he made another error trying to get an out at third base as the Angels cut the Texas lead to 3-2. Adrian Beltre then made a throwing error on a ground ball by Mike Trout and two runs came in for a 4-3 Angels lead. The Rangers totaled four errors in the inning.

Record setting: The four errors were the most in an inning by a Rangers team. Ever. It's the first four-error inning since 2010 and the first in the American League since 2007.

Fifth-inning debacle: Trailing 4-3, the Rangers loaded the bases on singles by Martin and Kinsler and an error by Andrew Romine on Elvis Andrus' sacrifice bunt. They scored zero runs. No. 3 hitter Alex Rios got up in the count 3-1 and swung through two sliders, the second one way out of the strike zone. Beltre then fell behind in the count 0-2 and grounded into a rally-killing double play to shortstop.

Up next: Texas right-hander Alexi Ogando (7-4, 2.93) will take on the Los Angeles Angels and former Rangers left-hander C.J. Wilson (17-7, 3.36) at 7:05 p.m. Friday night on TXA Ch. 21 and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers reached the three million mark in attendance for the second consecutive season on Thursday. It's the only two times in franchise history they've done so.

The Rangers had a paid attendance of 26,198 for Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels, giving them a season attendance of 3,019,430. The Rangers are the eighth team in the major leagues to reach three million fans this season. The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Angels are the others in the American League.

Michael Taft of Keller was randomly selected when he entered the ballpark Thursday night as the three millionth fan. He received four tickets to the 2014 season opener and gift cards to the Majestic Grand Slam Gift Shop for each family member.

The Rangers have three home games remaining in the regular season.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers are in a position, with the American League wild card race so tightly bunched, that they could have to play a tiebreaker game against either Cleveland or Tampa Bay next week with the winner getting into the wild card game.

If they do find themselves in that situation, with a game on Monday, 22-year-old rookie Martin Perez will get that start.

"If we have to play this through and it's his turn on Monday, then yes," manager Ron Washington said on Wednesday. "It would be another challenging experience for him to get. He deserves it."

Perez won his 10th game of the season in Wednesday's 7-3 victory over Houston, passing Matt Harrison's nine wins in 2008 for the most ever by a Texas rookie. Perez is tied with Oakland's Dan Straily for the most wins by an American League rookie.

Baker improving: Jeff Baker has been taking ground balls the last three days and could be ready to test his sore groin at first base in the postseason, should the Rangers get there.

"I feel like I'm getting a little better and I'm able to run a little harder each day," Baker said.

Baker should get two starts at designated hitter this weekend with left-handers C.J. Wilson going for the Angels on Friday and Jason Vargas on Sunday.

Short hops: The Rangers have 47 come-from-behind victories after Wednesday night's win, the most in franchise history ... third baseman Adrian Beltre needs six hits in his final four games to reach 200 for the next four games ... center fielder Leonys Martin and infielder Jurickson Profar both said they expect to play winter ball for Licey in the Dominican League.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout had the day off Wednesday against Oakland, but he was back in the lineup against the Rangers and Matt Garza on Thursday night at Rangers Ballpark as the teams square off for the final four games of the regular season.

Trout, a leading candidate for American League MVP, struggled on the Angels' recent homestand, going 2-for-17, thus the day off.

"He can find it with one swing," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Trout before Thursday's game. "Hopefully he will.

Trout has a career .351 batting average against the Rangers, so Garza and their pitchers know what to expect. Here are the lineups for Thursday's game:

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
RF Alex Rios
3B Adrian Beltre
C A.J. Pierzynski
1B Mitch Moreland
LF Craig Gentry
DH David Murphy
CF Leonys Martin
P Matt Garza

ANGELS
LF J.B. Shuck
SS Erick Aybar
CF Mike Trout
DH Josh Hamilton
2B Howie Kendrick
RF Kole Calhoun
1B Mark Trumbo
C Chris Iannetta
3B Andrew Romine
P Jerome Williams

Bud Selig has officially announced that he'll step down as commissioner in January 2015. Jerry Crasnick will assess his legacy (hey, if Bowie Kuhn made the Hall of Fame I suspect Selig will eventually as well), but here are five key issues for the next commissioner to address.

1. Instant replay and quality of umpiring

We finally get expanded replay next season, so that should help resolve some of the controversial and blown calls. It remains to be seen how effective and efficient the system will be, but it can be adjusted as necessary. Just as importantly, the new commissioner has to work to improve consistency of ball/strike calls and reduce the episodes of ump rage.

Right now, the best umps (Eric Cooper, Chad Fairchild, Phil Cuzzi) get about 90 percent of ball/strike calls correct, according to our pitch data; the worst umps (Wally Bell, Tim Welke, Kerwin Danley, Jerry Meals) are at 86 percent. That difference may not seem like a lot, but that's a spread of 10 incorrect calls per 250 pitches. Even a 90 percent correct rate means the best umps are missing about 25 to 30 ball/strike calls a game. Maybe the human eye can't do better, but MLB needs to pay its umpire better, and in particular pay minor league umpires a living wage, so you can recruit from a wider field of candidates.

2. To DH or not to DH?

This ridiculousness has gone on too long. You simply can't have one sport with two leagues playing under different rules. The answer seems to be pretty obvious: Get rid of the designated hitter. There were only four full-time DHs this year: David Ortiz, Victor Martinez, Billy Butler and Kendrys Morales. They all batted at least 500 times as a DH. Nobody else even had 300 plate appearances (including Adam Dunn, who played a lot of first base). With so few teams actually using a DH, the resolution should be pretty clear. OK, so Butler is the youngest of those four and signed through 2015. No DH starting in 2016.

3. Oakland and Tampa Bay stadium issues

Look, both organizations have shown they can compete and win in spite of their lousy ballparks and low revenue. Part of the problem is that other teams are tired of propping up the Rays and A's. "The key here is to recognize that without the revenue-sharing dollars, we wouldn't even be able to compete or do what we're doing," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in August. "The other owners are looking at this and saying, 'How many years is this going to be? How much money is this going to be to a failing situation?'"

Oakland's problem is more easily solved. The A's want to move to San Jose; the Giants hold territorial rights to Santa Clara County (given to them years ago by the A's). A three-quarters majority vote of all owners can return those rights to the A's, but Selig has refused to call for a vote, wanting unanimity, including the Giants. Well, of course, the Giants would vote against it. The new commish should side with the A's here and get them, literally, out of the sewage.

4. Tanking

I've written about this issue. Buster Olney addressed it the other day. The current collective bargaining agreement makes it beneficial for teams to lose -- either to get a higher draft position (and thus more money to spend in the draft) or finish with one of the 10 worst records and thus have a protected first-round pick when signing free agents. What kind of sport essentially encourages tanking for 10 or more teams?

This season, we'll likely finish with 10 teams and maybe 11 winning 90 games ... and seven to 10 losing 90 games. You don't want to read too much into one season, but it's possible we'll see more seasons like this: Contenders and non-contenders, which makes for a less interesting sport. Back in 2004, only five teams won 90 and six lost 90. That's a healthier sport.

But the draft rules tie into another problem. For the most part, the owners love the new rules and capping the amount teams can spend in the draft. Why give more money to amateurs when you can pocket some of that money instead and buy new leather seats for your private jet? The long-range issue here is obvious: You risk talented athletes choosing other sports as signing bonuses decrease. The new commissioner should find ways to get more athletes playing baseball, rather than potentially pushing them towards a different sport.

5. The schedule

Nobody likes the fact that interleague play is now a constant throughout the season, but that's unavoidable with 15 teams in each league. But the unbalanced schedule creates issues of teams competing for the same thing (a wild-card spot) while playing vastly different schedules.

My own personal pet peeve is that the season drags too long into October. Last year's World Series games in Detroit were played in brutally cold weather. Depending on which teams advance, you're often playing your most important games of the year in your worst weather. The World Series can be as much a test of ability as a test of weather fortitude. There isn't a good solution, unless your shorten the regular season or the playoffs, add some doubleheaders, or -- god forbid -- play some World Series games during the day. The weather in Detroit in the afternoon last October was quite lovely. At night? Not so much.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers open their final four-game series of the season on Thursday night when right-hander Matt Garza faces Angels right-hander Jerome Williams at 7:05 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

Garza (10-6, 3.90 ERA): Garza had a dominant outing in his last start, allowing a run in eight innings as the Rangers beat Kansas City 3-1 ... It was the club's longest start since Yu Darvish went eight innings on Aug. 12 against Houston ... Garza snapped a four-game losing streak ... The Rangers are 7-5 in Garza's starts with two walk off wins ... Garza is winless in seven starts against the Angels, going 0-2 with a 5.61 ERA ... He is 0-1 with a 5.31 ERA against the Halos this season ... Garza is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA for six starts at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Williams (9-10, 4.55 ERA): Williams makes his third start against the Rangers this season ... He has won all four of his September starts for his career-best winning streak ... He allowed one earned run in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-5 victory over Seattle. ... Williams has a 3.75 ERA in September ... He is 1-1 with a 5.98 ERA in 13 games against the Rangers ... He is been better against Texas this season, with a 3.00 ERA in four games/two starts.

Hitters: Adrian Beltre is 10-for-24 with two home runs and five RBIs against Williams. Howie Kendrick is 6-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs against Garza.

Texas Rangers (87-71, 2nd place/AL West) vs. Los Angeles Angels (78-80, 3rd place/AL West)

Thursday: RHP Matt Garza (4-5, 4.56) vs. RHP Jerome Williams (9-10, 4.55), 7:05 p.m.

Friday: RHP Alexi Ogando (7-4, 2.93) vs. LHP C.J. Wilson (17-7, 3.36), 7:05 p.m.

Saturday: LHP Derek Holland (10-9, 3.33) vs. RHP Garrett Richards (7-7, 4.09), 7:05 p.m.

Sunday: RHP Yu Darvish (13-9, 2.82) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (9-7, 4.01), 2:05 p.m.

Here's what to watch for in this final series of the regular season:

Upper hand: The Rangers have dominated the Angels this season, winning 11 of 15 games, but don't expect this to be an easy series. The Halos won two of out three from the Rangers earlier this month in Anaheim. The Angels are 23-9 in their last 32 games for the second best record in the majors. They are 9-0-1 in their last 10 series. The Rangers swept their last home series against the Angels in July, winning all three games on walk-off home runs.

Wilson goes for 18: Former Ranger C.J. Wilson is having a sensational second second with the Angels. He is 17-7 with a 3.36 ERA. Wilson lost for the first time in 14 starts in his last outing. He is 13-2 with a 2.94 ERA in his last 19 starts. Alexi Ogando will face Wilson on Friday night. Ogando had seven shutout innings Sunday in Kansas City.

What about Josh?: Former Ranger Josh Hamilton comes back to Baseball Town on a nice run. He has a 10-game hitting streak and had two hits and two RBIs in the Angels' 3-2 victory over first-place Oakland on Wednesday. Hamilton is batting .325 for September with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 16 RBIs. That's significantly better than last September when Hamilton faded, batting .245 as the Rangers blew a big lead in the American League West.

Trout the MVP: You can't talk about the Angels and not mention All-Star outfielder Mike Trout, who is having another MVP-type season. Trout is closing in on becoming baseball's first 10-20-30-40 player, 10 triples, 20 homers, 30 steals and 40 doubles. He needs a double and triple in the four games against Texas. He currently has nine triples, 26 home runs, 33 steals and 39 doubles.

No Weaver: The Rangers avoid Angels ace Jered Weaver, who made his final start of the season Wednesday and beat the A's 3-1, allowing a run in seven innings. Texas still has to deal with Wilson and another lefty, Jason Vargas, on Sunday. Wilson and Garrett Williams beat the Rangers in the last series the teams played in Anaheim Sept. 6-8. Matt Garza and Derek Holland, who will start Thursday and Saturday, took losses in that series.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Well, here you go.

The Rangers traded for Matt Garza because of his reputation for being a big-game pitcher. Thursday night's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels qualifies as a big game.

A huge game.

The Rangers are running out of games -- there are four left -- and Tampa Bay and Cleveland aren't losing in front of them. So the only thing Texas can do is keep winning. Odds are the Rays and Indians won't win out.

That's where the Rangers turn to Garza and the rest of their rotation. Rangers starters are 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in their last nine games. Texas is 6-3 during that stretch.

Garza had a big-game performance in his last start Saturday at Kansas City, allowing a run in eight innings. He kept things simple and commanded the strike zone.

"I've just got to keep it simple," Garza said. "That's kind of been my whole thing and it's kind of who I am. It's no time to work on anything anymore."

WHAT'S UP NOW: Rapid Reaction from Wednesday's 7-3 victory over the Astros. Plus, a postgame blog on Leonys Martin helping the Rangers keep pace in the wild-card race.

UP NEXT: It's all about Garza as he faces Angels right-hander Jerome Williams at 7:05 p.m. Thursday night on Fox Sports Southwest, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Who will lose first -- Tampa Bay or Cleveland?