Texas took care of the biggest remaining goal, winning second place all by themselves by beating the Seattle Mariners last night. But other team and individual goals remain with just two games left, including tonight's tilt. Among them:
* If Rangers win the next two teams, they would finish above .500 on the road this season. They have had winning records on the road just twice in the last 16 seasons: 41-40 in 2006 and 44-37 in 1999.
* Tommy Hunter, 23, is looking for his 10th win tonight. He would become the ninth rookie in team history to win 10 games in a season and the first since Chris Young won 12 games in 2005. Hunter could also become the first rookie starter in Rangers history to win 10 games in a season with fewer than 21 starts (he's making his 19th start).
* Omar Vizquel needs two hits as a shortstop (he has 2,672 at that position in his career) to pass Venezuelan Luis Aparicio for second on the all-time hits list by a shortstop (Derek Jeter is the leader). Vizquel hasn't had a hit as a shortstop since Aug. 29. He did start last night at shortstop, but was 0-for-3.
* Elvis Andrus, who had a big two-RBI pinch-hit double in the ninth on Friday, continues to make his case for rookie of the year. We'll get into more detail about that next week, but he's looking for one more stolen base this season to overtake Cecil Espy (33 stolen bases in 1988) for the most by a rookie in Rangers history.
* Scott Feldman is on the mound Sunday. He could get win No. 18, tying him for second in the majors. He could also get his 13th road win. He already has the most in club history. We'll talk more about Feldman on the blog tomorrow.
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Contributors
Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of the "GameNight with Ben & Skin" show, heard weekdays from 6p-9p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
