The Texas Rangers Outlast the Detroit Tigers, win 7-6

Sep 29, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (left) gets a powerade bath by second baseman Hanser Alberto (68) after the game against the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Texas won 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers (85-72) beat the lowly Detroit Tigers (73-84) in a wild affair in Arlington Texas. Cole Hamels pitched (12-4) pitched poorly but got the win for the Rangers, while Buck Farmer (0-4) took the loss for the Tigers. Shawn Tolleson worked the ninth and got the save and a much-needed win for the Rangers.

Cole Hamels was brought in for games like tonight, to right the ship and to be a calming presence for the Rangers. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned, and he was rocked by the hard-hitting Detroit Tigers. Hamels pitched six innings, allowing seven hits and six earned runs. Hamels struck out eight and walked two, but gave up two home runs, which is never a good sign. Even worse was that he needed 106 pitches to get through his six innings, as he wasn’t efficient all night and had trouble keeping Tigers hitters off the bases.

Thankfully for Hamels, the Rangers bullpen pulled through yet again. Sam Dyson entered for the seventh inning, and shut the Tigers bats down. The hard throwing RHP has continued to impress me, and he certainly rose to the occasion tonight. Keone Kela came in and worked a perfect eight inning for the Rangers, and his presence in the back-end of the bullpen has provided a huge lift. Things didn’t go as smoothly for Sean Tolleson though, as he gave up two hits and needed a miraculous catch by Drew Stubbs to keep the victory.

The good news for the Rangers was the struggles that the Tigers rookie Daniel Norris had tonight. Norris lasted just 1 2/3 innings, surrendering five hits and a home run. Norris certainly wasn’t helped by his defense though, as he gave up six runs, but only two of which were earned. The Rangers made him work all night, and he pitched 71 pitches, yes 71, in just an inning and a third. The Rangers pounced on the rookie, and they made it a quick night for the young man who spends his off seasons in a van.

Buck Farmer, today’s looser for the Tigers, came in and pitched two innings of work, relatively limiting the damage. In his two innings of work he surrendered one earned run on two hits, before giving way to Tom Gorzelanny. Gorzelanny pitched 2/3 on an inning, surrendering a walk but nothing more. Drew VerHagen was then summoned from the bullpen, and he did a marvelous job for the Tigers, surrendering no hits in his 1 2/3 innings of work. Blaine Hardy came in and was only able to work 1/3 of an inning before getting yanked, as he surrendered two hits to the Rangers. Al Alburquerque pitched the rest of the way for the Tigers, escaping the jam in the seventh and again pitching well in the eighth, going 1 2/3 innings of no hit ball while striking out three.

The Rangers brought their bats tonight, and it was most definitely needed. Things got off with a bang, as the Rangers answered the Tigers in impressive fashion. Delino DeShields reached on an error by Ian Kinsler, and Choo made the Tigers pay by depositing a home run into the right field seats. Mike Napoli then scored Adrian Beltre on an error by the Tigers first basemen, Jefry Marte. Elvis Andrus kept the rally going and got the job done when he lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Prince Fielder and making it 4-2. Rougned Odor followed that a triple, scoring Napoli and giving the Rangers a 5-2 lead.

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The Rangers didn’t let off the gas pedal though, and thankfully they didn’t because the Rangers needed some more. After the Tigers responded in the top of the second to make it 5-4, Beltre hit an infield single to score DeShields and extend the lead to 6-4. In the fourth Beltre struck again for the last run of the game, when he launched a ground rule double to score Choo and give the Rangers the decisive 7-6 lead.

With the win the Rangers keep up their lead over the Astros in the AL West and move their magic number to just four games. With the Astros and Angles winning now, this win was imperative and much-needed for the Rangers.

The Texas Rangers (85-72) will battle the Detroit Tigers (73-84) tomorrow in the series finale tomorrow night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers will turn to Yovani Gallardo (12-11 3.42 ERA) and the Tigers will turn to Matt Boyd (1-5 6.91 ERA). You can watch the Rangers game live locally on Fox Sports Southwest, or watch on any connected device with an Mlb.tv subscription.

Next: Texas Rangers magical season threatened by familiar ending

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