The Rangers beat the team favored to win the AL West Friday night. They won their fifth straight game. They moved as high as seven games above .500 for the first time in nearly four years.
And still this question must be asked: Could such a win ever be a bad win? In the wake of nearly losing a seven-run, ninth-inning lead before holding on for a 10-8 victory, the Rangers surveyed all answered "no." But they did think about the question for a while.
"The ninth was kind of a momentum-killer," said second baseman Ian Kinsler, who homered twice as the Rangers built a 10-3 lead through eight innings. "We had all the momentum and they kind of took some of it in the ninth. I think they feel like they gained some."
The attitude in the clubhouse said two things about the 21-14 Rangers. One, they can still author a breakdown with the best of them. And two, simply winning isn't sufficient for them.
They feel like they have a legitimate shot to contend for the AL West, which they lead by 2 1/2 games. Championship teams don't win games like Friday's because they don't ever play them. "The thing that makes everybody in here a little bitter right now is that we know how good of a team we are and to let them back into the game is unacceptable," said starter Kevin Millwood.
RANGERS 10, ANGELS 8: The Rangers cruised to their fifth-consecutive win by hammering out three home runs and getting legitimately solid starting pitching. The Rangers scored twice in the first off LHP Joe Saunders, but the offense really took things up a notch in the third inning when both 2B Ian Kinsler (11 homers this season) and CF Josh Hamilton each hit two run homers. The Rangers had to hold on the rest of the way as the Angels chipped away. The win pushed the Rangers' lead in the AL West to 2.5 games over Los Angeles.
