With only two weeks left in the season, any hopes the Los Angeles Angels have of making the playoffs rest on making sure the team wins when they were "supposed" to win. For example, when you play against a team with a lesser record, or when your ace is on the mound, you are "supposed" to win.
On Tuesday night the Angels had their ace on the mound in Jered Weaver, but they were playing a first place team, one of the best in the majors in the Texas Rangers. It didn't matter.
Weaver was sharp, earning his 18th win after giving up just three runs on six hits in seven innings. The win also gave him 100 for his career.
"It's an honor to do it all in an Angels uniform," said Weaver, a Los Angeles-area native, to the Associated Press. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully these fans see 200 more, but I don't know. We'll see what happens."
The Angels took an early lead after Torii Hunter singled in Erick Aybar in the first inning, but Texas quickly struck back.
In the third inning Mike Napoli hit a solo home run, which was followed by a two-run shot by Ian Kinsler after Mitch Moreland got on base. The three runs would be all the Rangers could muster.
The fourth inning saw the Angels rally to tie the game, take the lead, and then blow it wide open. The team batted around the order and brought 12 batters to the plate.
"It felt like a rain delay out there," Weaver said. "But when runs are coming across the board, you can't complain too much."
Chris Iannetta started things off, hitting a two-run single that scored Vernon Wells and Alberto Callaspo.
"We're at the point in the year when we just have to win," Iannetta said. "We need to find a way. Texas, Oakland, Baltimore, they're all in the drivers' seat, but we've been on a real good three-week stretch. We just have to keep working."
Texas starter Ryan Dempster then walked Mike Trout and was taken out of the game. He pitched only three innings and gave up five runs on six hits with no strikeouts.
"It got out of control," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We just couldn't get any outs. Dempster struggled from the beginning. It was a fight the whole time, and in that fourth inning, they just took the game away from us."
The following pitcher hit Aybar to load the bases and then threw a wild pitch. After a throwing error Trout scored another run to make it 5-3. But they weren't done.
Vernon Wells had a sacrifice fly, Callaspo hit a run-scoring double and Aybar came to the plate again, adding an RBI single.
"It was strange and bizarre," Michael Young said. "There were definitely strange things that happened that inning, but the bottom line was that they had some good at-bats and found a way to score. It doesn't matter how it happened. They scored eight."
The win brought the Angels closer to the postseason, but they will need help from other teams to make it. Los Angeles has won 15 of the last 20 games, but sit 3 ½ games behind Oakland in the wild-card race after the Athletics lost to Detroit on Tuesday.
Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton left the game in the fourth inning with vision issues.
On Wednesday the Rangers will start Derek Holland, who is 10-6 with a 4.50 ERA, against Angels starter CJ Wilson, who is 12-9 with a 3.73 ERA in his first season with the team since signing as a free agent.
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