Baseball, Texas Rangers | featured news

Injured, exhausted and facing elimination, the Detroit Tigers went into what could have been their final game of the season needing a strong performance from their ace, Justin Verlander, a revival of their offense and maybe a little luck to stay alive.

Mike Napoli drove in the go-ahead run, then Nelson Cruz added a three-run homer in the 11th inning as the Rangers took a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday.

Victor Martinez slowed his home run trot to barely a jog, stepping gingerly around the bases after hurting himself with a big swing. The banged-up Detroit Tigers are teetering but still standing, thanks to Martinez, Miguel Cabrera and another pivotal performance on the mound by Doug Fister.

Nelson Cruz hit the first game-ending grand slam in postseason history, lifting the defending American League champions over the Detroit Tigers 7-3 in 11 innings Monday for a 2-0 series lead.

Back on the road in the playoffs, the Texas Rangers won again. Colby Lewis outpitched All-Star David Price, Mike Napoli hit a go-ahead two-run homer and the defending AL champions survived a shaky night from the bullpen to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Monday night in Game 3 of their postseason series.

Matt Moore dominated in his second major league start, pitching seven innings of two-hit ball as the improbable Tampa Bay Rays opened the real playoffs with a 9-0 victory over the defending AL champion Texas Rangers on Friday.

Elvis Andrus took a home run trot at Rangers Ballpark, cheering a ball that landed 1,400 miles away. Prince Fielder enjoyed a victory lap at Miller Park, hugging fans along the way. Kirk Gibson pumped his fist at Chase Field, celebrating while the crowd chanted his name....

Josh Hamilton broke out of a slump with a long two-run homer and the tiebreaking RBI single for the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, who rallied for a 9-5 victory over the chasing Los Angeles Angels.

Slumping Nelson Cruz had two long homers among his four hits and drove in six runs as the AL West-leading Texas Rangers stretched their advantage to three games over second-place Los Angeles with an 11-7 victory over the Angels on Friday night.

I feel pretty safe in assuming that no pro sports team has a statue honoring a fan who has died at one of their games — until now. The Texas Rangers announced on Monday that they’re planning to erect a statue in honor of Shannon Stone, the man who died after a fall from the stands during a game at Rangers Ballpark on July 7.