ARLINGTON, Texas — Gary Matthews Jr. snapped out of
his September slump with a tiebreaking homer and a two-run single for the Los
Angeles Angels in a 10-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Howie Kendrick drove in five runs with a two-run homer
and a bases-loaded triple for the Angels (89-60), who won two of three in the
series. Juan Rivera and Chone Figgins also homered.
Closing in on a third straight AL West title and fifth in
six years, the Angels stretched their lead to 7 1/2 games over second-place
Texas with 13 to play.
The Rangers (81-67) wrapped up a 2-7 homestand during
which they had four shutout losses and dropped 2 1/2 games in the division
standings.
Boston leads the Rangers by eight games in the AL
wild-card race. Texas' loss also meant that the New York Yankees could clinch a
playoff berth Sunday with a victory at Seattle.
Matthews was 1-for-13 in his seven games this month
before a two-run single in the second that got Los Angeles to 3-2. His
base running mistake led to an inning-ending double play, but he made up for that
with his two-out solo homer in the sixth that broke a five-all tie and chased
rookie left-hander Derek Holland (7-12).
Kendrick's two-run homer tied the game earlier in the
sixth. He finished with three hits and is batting .420 (34-of-81) in his last 20
games.
An inning later, after Los Angeles loaded the bases
following two quick outs, Kendrick hit a liner that glanced off the
stretched-out glove of center fielder Marlon Byrd and rolled to the wall.
Texas, after scoring only four runs combined in its
previous six games, took a 3-0 lead in the first off John Lackey (11-8), who had
allowed only three earned runs in his previous four starts. But Los Angeles
immediately responded with runs each time after the Rangers scored.
Lackey allowed five runs, four earned, in six innings
with four strikeouts and two walks.
Holland gave up six runs while losing his fifth
consecutive start.
Hank Blalock had an RBI single in the Texas first before
a two-run single by Nelson Cruz, who was 3-for-30 in his previous nine games.
David Murphy had a leadoff double and scored on Ian Kinsler's sacrifice fly in the
third, but Rivera's solo homer came in the fourth.
Byrd's RBI single in the fifth put Texas up 5-3, but the
Angels homered twice in the following inning to go ahead for good.
Notes
The first pitch was moved up 2 hours from the
originally scheduled start time because of the Dallas Cowboys' home opener
Sunday night at their adjacent new stadium. The 12:08 p.m. CDT start matched the
earliest at Rangers Ballpark, in its 16th season. … Lackey's 102nd victory
with the Angels matched Frank Tanana for fourth on the team list. … Angels
starters have a 2.20 ERA over their last 22 games. … Rangers 3B Michael Young
acknowledged that he aggravated his strained left hamstring when he returned
early. He has missed 15 of 16 games, with the only appearance since getting hurt
on Sept. 1 being his one at-bat Tuesday.