Rangers defeat Angels and become 2015 A.L. West Champions!

By Alex Al-Kazzaz

This was it. This was the final game of the regular season. This was the game the Texas Rangers needed to win in order to become the 2015 American League West Champions. After failing to get the job done in the previous two games, the Rangers got it done with their final chance. In Game 2 of the series with the Angels, the Rangers had a 10-6 lead in the ninth, but blew it after allowing the Angels to score five runs to take an 11-10 lead. But the Rangers refused to quit. They knew that they had one more chance, and they could still get the job done. Now the Rangers need to prepare for their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cole Hamels took the mound in this final regular season game. Over nine complete innings pitched, Hamels allowed three hits, surrendered two runs, and struck out eight batters. The Rangers offense finished with a total of ten hits, and were struck out a combined ten times. The Rangers immediately trailed 2-0 at the top of the first after Hamels surrendered a two-run home run to Albert Pujols. The Rangers did respond in the bottom of the first, but didn’t take the lead until the fifth inning thanks to a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre. The Rangers would keep the lead for the rest of the game. In the seventh inning, the Rangers would increase their lead by adding six more runs to make their lead 9-2. After that, the Rangers avoided another ninth-inning collapse and won the game, becoming the 2015 A.L. West champions.

It’s been a roller coaster season for the Texas Rangers. A month into the season they were 7-14, and it seemed as though the Rangers would finish their season in the bottom of the rankings. But they got better and better. They spent weeks and weeks and weeks chasing the Houston Astros for the first place position, and when they finally claimed it, they held on to it for the remainder of the season.

Their first-round series against Toronto will not be easy, though. The Rangers will need to be well prepared and focused.

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