Final Score in Arlington: Angels 2, Rangers
It took Scott Kazmir 3 weeks and 4 starts as an Angel to get his first win with a Halo. His first W lowered the Angels' Magic Number to 9 to win the American League West.
The 6 hits the Angels managed on Friday night were enough. One was a solo HR by Vladimir Guerrero to lead off the 3rd inning. The other was a bloop single by Torii Hunter in the 1st inning that scored Maicer Izturis. Guerrero was in the middle of that, having extended the 1st inning by striking out but reaching first base on a Wild Pitch.
Kazmir allowed 6 hits in 6 IP, striking out 5 Rangers. If there was one blemish, his pitch count of 104 was a little high. Jason Bulger pitched a hitless inning of relief, Kevin Jepsen got into some trouble, lowlighted by a rare Torii Hunter throwing error, but an Andruw Jones fly to the warning track with the bases loaded was pretty much the end of the Rangers' season. Brian Fuentes got his 43rd Save of the season, the 5th most single season in Franchise History.
If there was one bright spot for the Rangers, the phenomenal Neftali Feliz Pwnaged the Angels and should give Texas fans a glimmer of hope for their future after an impressive job of hanging on during a season where they could have easily folded in June, July or August. The almost full house in Arlington served as a reminder that Dallas is the 5th largest media market in the nation and with an owner who has not robbed the team's coffers in place in a few seasons, the Rangers could be more than a late season hold on the Los Angeles champagne of Anaheim.
