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Texas Rangers play-by-play voice Eric Nadel was named a finalist for the 2013 Ford C. Frick Award, presented each year for for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Nadel was selected a finalist for the fourth consecutive year.

The other finalists: Joe Castiglione, Jacques Doucet, Ken Harrelson, Bill King, Duane Kuiper, Eduardo Ortega, Mike Shannon, Dewayne Staats and Pete van Wieren.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 11 at the Baseball Winter Meetings and that person will be honored during the Awards Presentation as part of Hall of Fame Weekend in 2014 in Cooperstown, New York.

The award has a new three-year cycle, which means that if Nadel doesn't win this year, he'll have to wait a few years to get another shot. Next year, those who made significant contributions from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s will be honored. The year after that, those from before the early 1950s before it rotates to broadcasters currently in the booth again.

Nadel just completed his 35th season with the Rangers. It's the longest tenure of any announcer in franchise history.

As an aside, Nadel deserves this award and, frankly, will win it. The question is when he'll get the honor. Let's hope it's this year, allowing him to enjoy a fun weekend at Cooperstown in 2014. It's difficult to imagine Rangers baseball without him, isn't it?

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Decisions, decisions, decisions.

The Rangers have quite a few to make as they enter their first offseason in four years without a postseason game.

Will Nelson Cruz be back? How about Joe Nathan? Others, such as catchers A.J. Pierzynski and Geovany Soto, outfielder David Murphy and pitcher Matt Garza will be discussed ad nauseam before the winter meetings in December in Orlando.

Manager Ron Washington touched on the big ones -- Cruz and Nathan -- during his postmortem press conference Tuesday morning, 12 hours after the Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 in the American League tiebreaker game. He and general manager Jon Daniels and the rest of the brain trust will sit down at some point and go over all the options.

The big one is Cruz. He was suspended for the final 50 games of the regular season for violation of Major League Baseball's Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Cruz has to shoulder a portion of the blame for the Rangers' not making a stronger push for the AL West title, as they gave it up to Oakland in the final month.

The Rangers were disappointed by Cruz's decision-making and suspension, but they also know there's a lack of right-handed power hitters in the major leagues, and the minors too. The Rangers are likely to make Cruz a qualifying offer of about $13.5 million.

Washington, for one, would welcome Cruz back.

“When you think about a Nelson Cruz, who wouldn’t want a Nelson Cruz?" Washington said. "Big heart, great teammate, but there’s a lot of decisions to be made on our part and Nelson’s part. I do believe Jon Daniels will go down that road and see where it works or doesn’t work."

Then there's Nathan. The Rangers have a $9.5 million option on him for 2014, with a $750,000 buyout, a contract that Nathan can void and become a free agent. Nathan, 38, made it clear all season that he expects to pitch for several more years and will seek a multiyear deal.

Nathan blew three saves this season and finished with 43 saves. He may walk the tightrope sometimes, which drives the fan base crazy, but he's reliable and gets the job done.

“I thought Joe Nathan had a tremendous year,” Washington said. “I think at the end of the year, Joe Nathan proved to everyone that doubted him what he was made of, and I certainly would love to continue giving him the ball because he gets outs.”

There will be other decisions. Both Pierzynski and Soto would like to return, but the Rangers may set their sights on free-agent-to-be Brian McCann.

They gave up a lot for Garza, including pitcher C.J. Edwards -- who pitched tremendously for the Cubs in the minors after the trade. Is that reason enough to bring Garza back? Did he show enough despite going through a maddening stretch in August and September?

Whatever happens, this will be a fascinating offseason, one in which Daniels and his staff will have to make their mark.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Martin Perez can take one thing away from Monday night's 5-2 loss in the American League wild-card tiebreaker game.

There's no shame in losing to a former Cy Young Award winner like the Tampa Bay Rays' David Price.

Perez gave up an early run, allowed a two-run home run to Evan Longoria and didn't make it out of the sixth inning. It probably wasn't what the 22-year-old Perez was looking for.

But knowing that Perez fractured his forearm in spring training, didn't get to the big leagues for good until June and ended up winning six straight games in August and September, there's nothing but good things he can take away from this season.

Just listen to veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski when asked about the pitch Perez made to Longoria in the third inning that catapulted the Rays to a 3-0 lead.

Perez got the ball where he wanted it -- down in the strike zone -- and Longoria, with a history of big hits late in the season, beat him.

"It wasn't a bad pitch," Pierzynski said. "[Longoria] just got his barrel on it. Martin made some good pitches in the first inning. The kid should be proud. I thought he pitched really well given the situation and given what he was facing for him being young.

"He's got a bright, bright future, and [I] hope that nobody looks at this game and gets down on him because that kid has a really good future. He's special, and he's only going to get better."

Perez was obviously disappointed after the game, regretting two walks in the early innings, both of which ended up as runs. The first inning was a mess in which he allowed three hits to go with the walk, but he got out of it allowing only the one run on Delmon Young's sacrifice fly.

Perez will also look back on the season proud that he overcame his injury and became a candidate for the American League rookie of the year award after carrying the Rangers' rotation in August with five victories.

"They did give me an opportunity to pitch at this level, and I think I did a great job this year," Perez said. "I want to work hard to be a good pitcher in the future."

Perez needs only to look at Price for what going through a little adversity with a late-season loss can end up producing in future seasons.

Price beat the Rangers for just the second time in 12 starts. This wasn't a postseason game, but it felt like one, and Price's 0-3 record against the Rangers in the playoffs doesn't feel nearly as bad now.

Price was clearly emotional after the game. He took advantage of a pitcher-friendly strike zone and pitched the fifth complete game in the history of the tiebreaker game.

Price adjusted his pitching style by going more with his breaking pitches than his fastball, which was actually up around 96 miles per hour after being around 94 mph in his past few starts. The Rangers managed just six hits.

"He threw a lot of breaking pitches," Elvis Andrus said. "Before, he used to throw a lot of fastballs against us, and that's why we always hit well. Today, he made an adjustment and threw a ton of changeups and breaking balls when we were ahead. He was locating the pitches really good, too."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- In the aftermath of Monday's 5-2 loss in the American League wild-card tiebreaker game, Elvis Andrus found himself second-guessing a decision to bunt for a base hit while representing the tying run in the bottom of the eighth.

Andrus was batting with one out after Ian Kinsler smoked a double into the left-field corner. The Rangers trailed 4-2 and had Nos. 3 and 4 hitters Alex Rios and Adrian Beltre coming up after Andrus.

Andrus tried to push a bunt past Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price, but it didn't spin enough toward the first-base line, allowing the Rays pitcher to glove the ball and flip it to first for the second out of the inning. Rios grounded out to shortstop to end the threat and the Rangers' best chance to tie the game.

Tampa Bay stole a run in the top of the ninth when Sam Fuld stole third and scored on Tanner Scheppers' errant throw. The Rangers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth with Nelson Cruz making the final out.

Andrus was asked after the game why he bunted.

"I don't know actually," Andrus said. "I'm still thinking about it. I'm still mad at myself right now, especially in that situation, facing that guy. I feel great, and I guess I saw the big picture: me getting on base and getting a big inning. I learned from that, for sure. I know what to do next time it happens."

Andrus probably wouldn't have been questioning himself during the first half of the season when he struggled offensively. Bunting might have been his best decision.

But he was dynamic after the All-Star break. He was a catalyst for the Rangers' offense, batting .314 with 36 RBIs and 40 runs scored.

Andrus said no one questioned his decision when he got back to the dugout.

"They know that I always play for the team and play to win the game," Andrus said.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers' charge to the playoffs at the end of the season was stopped by the team they eliminated from the postseason in 2010 and 2011, the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays outplayed the Rangers on Monday night in the American League wild-card tiebreaker game for a 5-2 victory at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Tampa Bay got the clutch home run, ran the bases better and played a flawless game in the field to move on to Wednesday's AL wild-card game against the Cleveland Indians.

Oh no, Longo: The Rays' Evan Longoria is at his best late in the season. He did it again Monday night, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead in the top of the third with a long two-run home run to right-center field that just got over the glove of Leonys Martin. Longoria also had a one-out double in the top of the sixth and scored on pinch hitter David DeJesus's RBI single to give the Rays a 4-1 lead.

Rangers get on board: Craig Gentry led off the bottom of the third with a single. With Gentry running, Martin grounded out to third base to give the Rangers a runner in scoring position. Ian Kinsler then lined a single into center field to cut the Rays' lead to 3-1.

Rios comes through: Alex Rios continued his torrid play late in the season, scolding a double off the left-field fence to score Elvis Andrus and cut the Rays' lead back to two runs at 4-2.

Baserunning mistakes: The Rangers upped their season total to a brutal 111 outs on the bases by getting picked off first base twice by David Price, who isn't known for having a great move. First, it was Andrus in the bottom of the first after drawing a one-out walk. After Kinsler drove in the Rangers' first run, he got picked off first base on a nice move by Price.

Perez's night: Rookie Martin Perez made his first postseason start, and while it wasn't the exact result he was looking for, he did keep the Rangers in the game for the first five innings. Perez allowed four runs in 5⅓ innings and was taken out after 74 pitches for Alexi Ogando, who gave up the single to DeJesus to give the Rays a three-run lead.

Leonys gets the call: The Rangers were the recipients of a very gracious call from left-field umpire Bruce Dreckman with two outs in the top of the seventh. With two runners on, Delmon Young sent a sinking line drive into center field that Martin made a diving attempt for in front of him. The ball actually one-hopped its way into Martin's glove, but Dreckman made the out call much to the chagrin of Rays manager Joe Maddon.

Cruz's night: Nelson Cruz played for the first time since his 50-game suspension and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Cruz almost changed the direction of the game in the second inning. With the Rangers trailing 1-0 and Adrian Beltre on second after a leadoff double, Cruz worked a 2-2 count and hit a screaming line drive that Rays first baseman James Loney snared. Cruz led off the bottom of the fifth with a grounder to third. He led off the seventh with a swinging strikeout on a full count.

Price goes nine: Price finally got over his curse of the Rangers. He worked a strong complete game and allowed two runs. Price came into the start with an 0-3 postseason record and a 10.26 ERA at Rangers Ballpark. But he had none of that on Monday night. Yes, he got a favorable strike zone from plate umpire Jeff Kellogg, who did have an impact on the game, but Price took advantage of it and allowed six hits and walked only one.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers manager Ron Washington isn't planning on having a quick hook for 22-year-old starter Martin Perez in Monday's American League wild-card tiebreaker game.

But he has plenty of arms to turn to if needed.

Washington said all of his pitchers, including starters Alexi Ogando, Matt Garza and Derek Holland, are available to come out of the bullpen in Game 163, an elimination game, against the Tampa Bay Rays. Yu Darvish is the only pitcher who won't be used.

PODCAST
Nolan Ryan joins Galloway and Company to discuss having Nelson Cruz back in the lineup and how the Rangers are feeling heading into their wild-card play-in game against the Rays. Listen

Ogando is the most likely to be the first starter used because of his experience pitching out of the bullpen. Washington said he'll just flow with the game and base his decision on how far to go with Perez on how his innings are going.

"It just depends on what is happening," Washington said. "If he has issues in the first inning, it could be the first inning. If he has issues in the fifth inning, it could be the fifth. It could be the second, the third. We just have to see what scenario is being played out there."

Washington said he'll work with his complete bullpen Monday night. The Rangers' pen has dominated during their seven-game winning streak, allowing one run in 20 1/3 innings. They have 27 strikeouts.

Setup man Tanner Scheppers has thrown 36 pitches while throwing four straight days, so his low count helps. Closer Joe Nathan also has pitched four straight days and he's available for the elimination game.

Keeping his pitch count down has been huge for Scheppers.

"It helps him to allow us to use him," Washington said. "He comes in and pounding the strike zone. What Joe's been doing after Scheppers has been outstanding."

Scheppers said there's no stopping now and that he'll be ready.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Scheppers said. "You can't be down for (Game) 163."

Put Gentry in ink: Nelson Cruz's return to the Rangers' lineup as the designated hitter means that Washington was able to keep Craig Gentry in at left field, which is good because Gentry is the Rangers' hottest hitter with 17 hits in his last 36 at-bats. He wasn't coming out for anyone.

"I never thought about taking Gentry out of there," Washington said.

Wash on Price: Rays starter David Price, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, has not pitched well against the Rangers. He has a 10.26 ERA in Arlington and has lost all three postseason starts against Texas.

If the Rangers have a secret, they're not revealing it. "I can't give you that," Washington said. "It's something that happened."

Washington said the Rangers have the utmost respect for Price, who is 9-8 with a 3.39 ERA this season.

"We're certainly not that confident that we're going to go out there and destroy Price because of what we've done in the past," Washington said. "It's Sept. 30, 2013 and this is a different time and a different day. We just have to go out there and continue to play our game and see what happens.

"Believe me, there's no one in this clubhouse taking Price lightly."

Short hops: Injured pitcher Colby Lewis, the Rangers' best all-time postseason pitcher, will throw out the first pitch before Monday's game. He'll also be in uniform for the game. Washington said that Lewis and Matt Harrison will accompany the Rangers on the road if they make the postseason. ... The Rangers and Rays are the only teams in the major leagues with four straight seasons with 90-plus wins.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nelson Cruz has been reinstated by the Texas Rangers after a 50-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug and will bat sixth and be the designated hitter in Monday's American League wild-card tiebreaker game at 7:07 p.m. at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

PODCAST
Nolan Ryan joins Galloway and Company to discuss having Nelson Cruz back in the lineup and how the Rangers are feeling heading into their wild-card play-in game against the Rays. Listen

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

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays have a Game 163 in front of them, an American League wild-card tiebreaker game Monday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers will start left-hander Martin Perez against Rays left-hander David Price at 7:07 p.m. CT on TBS, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and 1540-AM.

Perez (10-5, 3.55 ERA): The 22-year-old Perez makes the biggest start of his career. ... He allowed three earned runs in seven innings in his previous start against Houston. ... He was 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 31 innings in September. ... Perez had a six-game winning streak in August and September that carried the Rangers while other starters struggled to record wins. ... He is 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA at home in eight starts. ... Perez has faced the Rays once in relief, allowing two runs in five innings.

Price (9-8, 3.39 ERA): Price allowed two runs in seven innings in an 8-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday. ... He is 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA in five starts in September. ... Price is 7-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 road starts. ... Price has not faced the Rangers this season, but historically he hasn't pitched well against them. ... Price is 1-4 with a 5.98 ERA in eight starts in the regular season against the Rangers. ... He's 1-2 with a 10.26 ERA at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, allowing four home runs in 16 2/3 innings. ... He is 0-3 with a 4.66 ERA against the Rangers in three postseason starts.

Hitters: Evan Longoria is 1-for-2 against Perez. Nelson Cruz, who returns Monday night, is 6-for-12 with two home runs and four RBIs against Price. Alex Rios is 10-for-23 with two homers and seven RBIs against the Rays lefty.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- This time last season, Martin Perez was going through something brand new -- pitching in a big league pennant race.

The 21-year-old allowed four runs in four innings in a 4-3 loss to Oakland in Game 160 of the season. The Rangers lost two more games and the division to the A's.

A year later, Perez is in a different place.

He finds himself pitching Monday night in Game 163, the American League wild-card tiebreaker game against former Cy Young winner David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Perez is confident. He believes in himself. And he says he's ready to help the Rangers move into the postseason by winning Monday's elimination game.

"When you're on this level, you have to be ready for whatever decision they make, and I'm ready," Perez said. "That's why I'm here. They trust me, and I just have to do my job."

Perez is trusted because he carried the Rangers' rotation as a 22-year-old in August and September. While Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Matt Garza weren't winning consistently, Perez put together a six-game winning streak.

PODCAST
Nolan Ryan joins Galloway and Company to discuss having Nelson Cruz back in the lineup and how the Rangers are feeling heading into their wild-card play-in game against the Rays. Listen

Perez had a 2.76 ERA and a .236 opponents batting average during that stretch. He walked only 11 in 42 1/3 innings.

This is a different Perez from last year in Oakland.

"He's one of the reasons why we are getting this opportunity, and it's his turn," manager Ron Washington said. "He's well-rested. We have plenty of guys to back him up. If it gets out of control, we can stop it quickly. We have a lot of confidence in him."

Don't expect Perez to be intimidated by Price. He went up against some big-time starters during his winning streak, including fellow Venezuelan Felix Hernandez and also Chris Sale.

Perez beat his hero Hernandez, another former Cy Young winner, twice in the span of 11 days.

"I don't face David Price, because he doesn't hit," Perez said. "I'm just going to face the hitters and just want to my best. I know it's an important game for us. I just want to go to the mound and have the same focus and throw strikes, do what I have to do to win the game, because tomorrow's game is the most important game we have."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers finished the season with seven straight wins, all at home, to extend their season. If they want to play into October, they'll need to make it eight straight with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Texas won the season series after splitting a four-game set last week. Let's take a look at three reasons the Rangers win and three reasons their season ends tonight.

3 REASONS RANGERS WIN:

1: Momentum. This team has a bunch of that right now, and it's not as if they have to worry about travel or anything else. They can treat this like a continuation of the week. It's been a really good week. They are getting clutch hits. The starting pitching has been solid, and the bullpen has been lights out. The Rangers are playing confident baseball. No reason to think it won't continue.

2: Nelson Cruz. No other playoff team welcomes the kind of bat the Rangers do. Cruz, whose 50-game suspension ended after Sunday's final pitch, is the kind of streaky player who can carry an offense. He hasn't played in a big league game since early August, but that might not matter. He's a force to be reckoned with and he'll be in there for Game 163. He said Sunday that he's excited to have a chance to help the team he left because of the suspension early last month.

3: David Price. Seems strange to put him in there, but take a look at his numbers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in his career. They are ugly. He's got a 10.26 ERA in his career in Arlington, though he hasn't pitched in Texas since August 2012. His postseason numbers against Texas aren't great, either. He's 0-3 with a 4.66 ERA in three American League Division Series starts in 2010 and 2011. If the Rangers hit him like they have in the past, it's a recipe for moving on to Cleveland on Wednesday.

3 REASONS RANGERS LOSE:

1: Price. No, that's not a typo. The reality is that, while Price hasn't been the same pitcher in 2013 that he was in 2012, he's still a Cy Young Award winner. He'd like nothing better than to finally beat the Rangers in a game that matters, and he has that opportunity. If the Price of last season shows up, it could be a long night for the Rangers.

2: Tired bullpen. The Rangers' relief corps has been tremendous this week. They've also been worked hard. There was no choice, of course. Any loss would have meant the end of Texas' season. But Joe Nathan and Tanner Scheppers have pitched in each of the past four games. Do they have a fifth straight game in them? Manager Ron Washington needs innings from his starter and some help from other arms in his bullpen.

3: Martin Perez. He's got 10 wins and hasn't looked like a rookie out on the mound of late. He also seemed very calm answering questions from the media in the clubhouse after Sunday's game. But what if he squints in the bright lights? That could change everything. Perez is a big X-factor in this game. That should be interesting to watch.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler and his teammates just rattled off seven straight games to make it to the American League wild-card tiebreak game.

And, on a Sunday when the players could hear fans chanting "baseball town" at Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton -- mocking his comments from before the season -- Kinsler wondered aloud how a must-win game in Arlington wasn't a sellout.

Where was everybody?

"We've been to the postseason three years in a row," Kinsler said. "We're fighting for our playoff lives. I'm just a little disappointed this place wasn't sold out and rocking.

"You can't say it's the Cowboys because they were on the road. The fans were chanting 'baseball town' and stuff like that, and we can't sell out."

The Rangers had an announced crowd of 40,057, meaning there were close to 9,000 empty seats. The Rangers finished with 3,1135,477 fans, second in the American League to the New York Yankees and second only to last season in team history.

"The fans that were here were amazing," he said. "They were allowed to chant 'baseball town' because they were here supporting us. It was a little disappointing to see the place wasn't sold out today."

The Rangers will play again Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving fans another chance to fill up the ballpark.

When its team is playing for the postseason, a "baseball town" shows up.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- They did it, rallying past the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Seven must-win games. Done.

With no margin for error, just enough to get the Texas Rangers into Game 163 on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League wild-card tiebreak game.

Win that one and it's off to Cleveland for the wild-card game on Wednesday night against the Indians. Win that one and then it's on to Boston for the American League Divisional Series starting Friday against the Red Sox.

Basically, the Rangers need to come through in two more elimination games to keep on going in the postseason. They should have all the momentum in the world after doing it seven times, right?

"I believe in [momentum]," said catcher Geovany Soto, who drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. "I believe the team is coming together more than ever."

The Rangers found themselves in another grind-it-out kind of game on Sunday. They trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth after Yu Darvish allowed a home run to Mike Trout with two outs in the first inning.

(Read full post)

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers face the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday at 7:07 p.m. CT in the tiebreaker game to determine who gets to face Cleveland in Wednesday's AL wild-card game. Some information on tickets:

• Tickets on sale now. Fans can buy them at texasrangers.com or by calling 972-RANGERS or in person at 9 a.m. Monday at the ticket office at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.


• Parking lots open at 4 p.m. on Monday. First and Third base gates will open at 5 p.m. with all other gates opening at 5:30 p.m.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers aren't revealing anything about what could happen after Sunday in a wild-card play-in game or wild-card game.

Nothing about Nelson Cruz, who wasn't in the Rangers' clubhouse Sunday morning. Nothing about Monday's potential starting pitcher, which on rotation would be Martin Perez.

Not a thing.

"We don't know about anything past today," Washington said.

The Rangers probably have a good idea, they're just not going to say it until after they beat the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. That would mean the season would go on, either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how Tampa Bay and Cleveland do.

Washington said that everyone is available for Sunday's game, including Perez and potential Wednesday wild-card game starter Matt Garza.

Pierzynski is DH: Washington wanted A.J. Pierzynski in the lineup Sunday against a left-handed starter, so he's the designated hitter with Geovany Soto catching Yu Darvish for the fifth straight game.

"I want A.J.'s bat in there. Period," Washington said. "He's a threat."

Pierzynski is 6-for-24 with four RBIs during the Rangers' six-game winning streak. Soto has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, batting .393 with two home runs and five RBIs.

Darvish forecast: If Washington could have one wish for Darvish's start, he was asked by a reporter if he would want it to be fastball command. He offered another answer.

"I wish that the headlines be, 'Darvish dominates,' in big letters written by you," Washington said.

Washington on Game 162: For the third straight season, the major league season comes down to Game 162 with three teams -- the Rangers, Rays and Indians -- battling for two playoff spots.

It's amazing when you considered the regular season lasts six months and comes down to one day on the schedule.

"When you have the balance that the league has, it happens," Washington said. "This new format makes it exciting. If we had four division winners, it probably wouldn't be. But this gets other teams involved and sometimes you don't have to have that super year to have a chance. That's what I think the commissioner has done with this game and the format we're in. You never know what's going to happen in a one-game playoff. We proved that last year. I'd rather be in that one game than not be in it at all."

Short hops: Craig Gentry's right ankle is doing OK after it was stepped on by Angels' first baseman Mark Trumbo in Saturday's game. Gentry said he will have the ankle taped as usual as he starts for the ninth straight game in left field. ... Rangers TV broadcaster Steve Busby turns 64 today.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Geovany Soto is catching Yu Darvish for the fifth straight game, which means A.J. Pierzynski is the designated hitter.

Josh Hamilton returns to the Los Angeles Angels' lineup after a pinch-hit double Saturday. Here are today's starting lineups for Game 162:

RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
RF Alex Rios
3B Adrian Beltre
DH A.J. Pierzynski
C Geovany Soto
1B Mitch Moreland
LF Craig Gentry
CF Leonys Martin
P Yu Darvish

ANGELS
DH J.B. Shuck
SS Erick Aybar
CF Mike Trout
LF Josh Hamilton
2B Howie Kendrick
RF Kole Calhoun
1B Mark Trumbo
C Hank Conger
3B Andrew Romine
P Jason Vargas