Hamels big delivery
New ace’s complete game clinches West as Texas recovers from Saturday meltdown.
ARLINGTON — Just like they drew it up. Well, almost. OK, so the Texas Rangers didn’t exactly want to need the 162nd and final game of the regular sea
son to clinch the AL West. But a two-game losing streak to the Los Angeles Angels and the specter of the fast-charging Houston Astros forced Sunday’s extra drama for a Texas club that had clinched a postseason berth of some kind last Thursday.
But in winning 9-2 on the strength of Cole Hamels’ shutdown pitching and a six-run seventh inning, the Rangers may have accomplished something they wouldn’t have, had they coasted to the finish line.
They proved they can overcome adversity.
Even some adversity of their own making. And they’ve had plenty of that, considering they trailed the Astros by eight games on Aug. 2 and were closer-less in the first month of the season and had an ailing superstar Adrian Beltre for a lot of it.
Face it. The Rangers had frittered away a couple of chances to clinch the division, none worse than Saturday night’s choke job when they blew a four-run, ninth-inning lead over the Angels in such a wild game that the two clubs combined for 18 pitchers. No, not in the ninth. The entire
game.
But even with that monumental meltdown prompting manager Jeff Banister to say baseball “has a cruel sense of humor sometimes,” the Rangers relied on their winning formula. A solid left hand-dominant lineup and strong pitching brought them from the depths earlier this season to wrest the divisional crown from the shocking Astros and avoid the dangerous, one-game, wildcard showdown. They wore colorful T-shirts proclaiming, “The West is Ours.”
In beating the nemesis Angels, who had won 12 of the last 18 matchups before Sunday, the Rangers even exorcised a few demons, even if Nelson Cruz wasn’t around to witness it. Even former Cardinals World Series hero David Freese, playing third base for the Angels, couldn’t come up with an RBI scorcher off Beltre’s bat, further shedding a ghost or two.
They won to underscore Banister as more than a capable rookie manager, one who shepherded his team to 88 wins for a 21-game improvement, and not a clueless leader who may have mismanaged his bullpen in Saturday’s heartbreaker.
“Winning in any way is special, but especially after last night’s gutpunch,” he said in a soggy clubhouse where champagne and beer were in as much supply as heroes.
They won to more than justify the acquisition of Hamels on July 31 as the former Phillie threw his first complete game as a Ranger. Signed to three more years, the threetime All-Star lefty gives Texas a legitimate ace for the playoffs and immense hope for the future after he and his wife gave Texas the most marks on a 50-point checklist before the trading deadline and hand-picked the Rangers.
They won to shine a light once more on the slugging third baseman Beltre, one of the elite players in all of baseball. “He’s probably the most resilient, toughest, most professional, most deliberate guy I’ve been around,” Banister said. “He’s a Hall of Famer in my book.”
The 45,772 fans on hand on a sun-baked Sunday at Globe Life Park were just glad they won. Period.
So was general manager Jon Daniels, whose deal to bring Hamels as well as relievers Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman aboard sharpened the top of the rotation and solidified what has become one of baseball’s best bullpens. Shawn Tolleson, remember, didn’t even get the closer job until May but has 35 saves.
“We have won for a while here, but last year reminded us how special it was,” Daniels said.
With the win, the Rangers buy some time off to help rest a weary bullpen and set up their rotation for Toronto on Thursday. As for the playoffs, Daniels said, “Bring it on. We’ll take our chances.”
Hamels was downright giddy, at least until fellow pitcher Derek Holland sprayed half a beer in his face in jubilation.
Asked to rate his own performance, in which he didn’t allow a hit after Shane Victorino’s oneout double in the second and retired 23 of the final 26 batters, Hamels said, “It was good. This is a great organization with great fans, and I’m in it for the long haul. I understood the situation today, and you want to make the best of it. As a starter, you always want to finish what you start.”
And finally, the Rangers put together a finish that didn’t make them cringe.