ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Josh Hamilton overtook Justin Morneau for the AL RBI lead, Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis hit consecutive home runs, and the Texas Rangers set a major league single-season record for doubles in an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
In the first two games of this series, the Rangers have 18 runs and 22 hits against John Lackey and Ervin Santana, who are scheduled to start the first two games of the AL division series against Boston.The AL West-champion Angels had a choice whether to start the playoffs on Tuesday or Wednesday and chose Wednesday so Lackey and Santana would pitch on their normal four days rest and get an extra off day later in the series.
A victory by the Rangers in Sunday's finale not only would give them their first three-game sweep in Anaheim since June 1999, but also would prevent them from becoming the seventh different franchise in since divisional play began in 1969 to finish in second place by a margin of 20 or more games. The last one to do it was Cleveland in 1999, when they ended up 21 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.
Scott Feldman (6-8) allowed two runs - one earned - and five hits in six innings while wrapping up his first season as a starter with a 5.29 ERA. The right-hander was 2-5 in his final 10 outings, including a pair of losses to the Angels.
Hamilton's two-run single during a four-run sixth that increased Texas' lead to 8-1. He has 130 RBIs, one more than Morneau. The last Rangers player to win an RBI title was Alex Rodriguez with 142 in 2002.
Santana (16-7) was charged with eight runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings and struck out five. He finished his regular-season slate with a 3.49 ERA and 214 strikeouts in 219 innings, the highest strikeout total by an Angels right-hander since Nolan Ryan's 223 in 1979. Lefty Chuck Finley had 215 in 1996.
One night after their seven-run second inning against Lackey, Texas scored three times in the second against Santana to grab a 3-1 lead. Cruz homered off the rock formation in left-center field after a single by Marlon Byrd, and Davis drove the next pitch far back into the right field seats for his 17th of the season.
Since his promotion from Triple-A Oklahoma on June 26, Davis is leading all rookies with 56 RBIs and 42 extra-base hits. He had his first career four-hit game in the series opener and is batting. 288 in 79 games. He also has 16 home runs.
Hank Blalock made it 4-1 in the third with an RBI double into the right field corner after Bryd's infield single. It was the Rangers' 374th two-base hit, breaking the mark set by the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals and equaled by the 1997 and 2004 Red Sox.
Notes: Blalock's double was his only hit, snapping his five-game home run streak. ... The Angels, one of two current major league teams that had never had a 100-win season, have one more chance to break the franchise record of 99 set in 2002. ... For the first time since 2002, the Rangers will not have a player with 200 or more hits. Hamilton has 190, and Michael Young has 183 after five consecutive seasons with 200 or more. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia was happy for his former bench coach, Joe Maddon, after Tampa Bay clinched their first division title Saturday night. "It doesn't surprise me that Joe has created an environment that allowed them to achieve what they've achieved, but it I think it's astounding that they've done it so quickly," Scioscia said. ... Texas 2B and leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler, whose season ended 37 games prematurely because of a sports hernia, had the longest hitting streak in the AL this season at 25 games. Tied for second at 23 were Young and the Angels' Garret Anderson.
