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Post-Game Show: Rangers 3, Angels 2

•  Box score

Story of the Game

The vast majority of the fourth Rangers Ballpark sellout crowd of the season stayed to see if three runs – three runs – would result in their club’s first win since last Sunday afternoon. The 3-2 victory over the Angels followed some ninth-inning fielding strategy in which manager Ron Washington admitted going against the percentages … and also admitted he’d do it differently in the future.

The one-run lead came courtesy of a sixth-inning solo home run by 1B Hank Blalock, making his first start since Sept. 6 and only his third in the last 23 games. Washington left Blalock at first, Chris Davis at third and 11-time Gold Glover infielder Omar Vizquel in the dugout in the ninth. With Torii Hunter on first and one out against closer Frank Francisco, Kendry Morales hit a grounder to Blalock. He couldn’t field it cleanly, leaving runners at first and second. A double steal advanced the runners to second and third, after which Juan Rivera was intentionally walked to load the bases. Howie Kendrick hit a wicked grounder to shortstop, which Elvis Andrus turned into the game ending 6-3 double play.

Washington said he considered pulling Blalock in the ninth, moving Davis to first (here he has played excellent defense) and inserting Vizquel at third. “But I trust Hank,” he said. “I like Chris over there at third although Vizquel is better. It was a trust thing.” And would he handle it differently down the road, given what happened in the ninth? “Yes, I would,” he said.

Blalock started because Washington wanted a veteran lineup to try to jump start an offense that had scored only one run in the previous five games, all losses. And he wanted as many left-handed bats as possible against Angels RHP Jered Weaver, who came into the game holding right-handed hitters to a .205 batting average.

Blalock hit his 24th home run, his first since Aug. 8, in the sixth off Weaver to break a 2-2 tie. As for the ninth-inning error, he said: “It’s a 3-6-3 double play that’s supposed to end the game.”

But Andrus turned the game-winner, pulling the Rangers within 6.5 games of the Angels going into Sunday’s series finale at noon. And Andrus was on the receiving end of a spectacular force out to end the seventh inning on a submarine throw from 2B Ian Kinsler on a sharp grounder by Kendrick that got past RHP Darren O’Day. Where would O’Day rate Kinsler’s toss on the O’Day underhand scale? “I think I had my eyes closed,” he said. “I was so surprised that he even got to it. You can’t say enough about those two up the middle.”

Three Up

• The Rangers ended their 25-inning scoreless streak in the third inning on a dribbler by Davis to the left of the mound and eluded both Weaver and SS Maicer Izturis.

• RHP Scott Feldman notched his 17th victory of the season, holding the Angels to two runs in 6.2 innings. He should have three starts remaining – on the road against the A’s, Angels and Mariners – in his attempt to become the club’s fourth 20-game winner, the first since Rick Helling in 1998.

• Francisco got the save in the harried ninth, working his fourth consecutive game over five days. Lost in the recent offensive emergency is the fact that the Rangers’ bullpen has held opponents scoreless over the last 12.2 innings.

Three Down

• One of the Rangers’ better hitters throughout the season’s second half, David Murphy went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

•  With the Rangers looking to add an insurance run in the seventh inning, Julio Borbon was picked off first for the third out.

• The electric atmosphere of Saturday night has been missing at Rangers Ballpark for a month, since the Red Sox were last in town.

Stat o’ Game

20: The number of Rangers wins in Feldman starts this season (20-8).

Player of the Game

Candidates: Feldman for coming back from his rough start last time out to win his 17th … Blalock for the game-winning homer … Kinsler for an overall strong fielding night and his 29th stolen base. He’s one steal and one homer away from coming the majors’ third 30-30 second baseman … any write-in nominations.