Rangers recap: Texas moves closer to clincher with 6-2 win against Tigers

The Rangers scored four times in the third and held off the Tigers with a stingy bullpen to win 6-2 Wednesday night at Globe Life Park. The win decreased Texas’ magic number to two over the Los Angeles Angels, who lost 8-7 to Oakland Wednesday. The Rangers host the Angels for a season-ending four-game series beginning Thursday night. If the Houston Astros lose late Wednesday at Seattle, Texas could clinch the American League West title with a win Thursday night.

Pitching: The Tigers rallied with two outs in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Starter Yovani Gallardo recorded two strikeouts looking before three consecutive hits, including a run-scoring double by J.D. Martinez and a run-scoring single by Tyler Collins. Andrew Faulkner replaced Gallardo with one out in the sixth. After Faulkner forced a groundout, Ross Ohlendorf replaced him to get the final out. Gallardo allowed two runs on nine hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings. Ohlendord held the Tigers to one hit in a 1 1/3 innings. Sam Dyson pitched a scoreless eighth. Shawn Tolleson closed it out in the ninth.

Hitting: Adrian Beltre tied it with a two-run homer in the first. The Rangers added four more in the third, knocking Matt Boyd from the game as Robinson Chirinos led off with a homer. With two outs, Beltre doubled and scored on Prince Fielder’s single. Mike Napoli’s two-run homer to left made it 6-2.

Notable: Beltre increased his American League-leading RBI total in September to 29 with two more Wednesday ... Rangers have scored 119 first-inning runs, including two Wednesday, tied for fourth-most in club history.

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Rangers recap: Texas moves closer to clincher with 6-2 win against Tigers."