While the Los Angeles Angels were celebrating their third consecutive AL West title, the Rangers were dealing with being the vanquished contenders. It’s not a role many of them are used to because the Rangers haven’t been in playoff races this late in a season in a long time.

“This is not a good feeling,” said 3B Michael Young, who returned from four weeks of dealing with a strained hamstring to have a pair of hits in Monday’s 11-0 loss. “Right now, I don’t care about the future or how our team shapes up for next year. It’s about winning or going home. We did not get it done. And that is really an unpleasant feeling. The Angels deserve a lot of credit for overcoming a lot of adversity and doing what it took to win. From our side, we’ve got to get better. It’s as simple as that.”

Said RHP Tommy Hunter, who allowed seven runs in 2.1 innings: “This just sucks. It’s tough to suck this badly in a situation when you shouldn’t suck. It was a horrible performance. It’s hard to describe the feeling. You don’t want to be the guy who lets hope get away. Somebody’s got to wear it, though. I have to wear it.”

With their AL West hopes basically eliminated after losing a five-run, eighth-inning lead Sunday, the Rangers headed to Anaheim knowing that any loss in a four-game series would hand the division championship to the Angels. Even with that knowledge, it didn’t take long for the Rangers to fall in a big hole. Hunter walked Chone Figgins to lead off the bottom of the first, then allowed a two-out run-scoring double to Vladimir Guerrero. It was followed by Kendry Morales two-run homer.

“They won it,” said manager Ron Washington. “I don’t think we laid down and gave them anything. They just came out and beat up on us. They jumped on us and kept pouring it on.”

9:13: In case you missed my announcement from earlier in the day, here is the link. In case you missed our story about Josh Hamilton not playing today and perhaps not again this year, it’s here.

9:22: Michael Young admitted that even though he’s in the lineup, he is not 100 percent. You know what might be the best thing for the Rangers at this point? It might be best if Los Angeles did what seems inevitable and clinched quickly. That way, maybe some Ranger core players could just rest over the final week of the season. Not saying that’s what I’d like to see happen, but I’d hate to see Young or Josh Hamilton try to do something this week and suffer an injury that lingers into 2010. Young doubled in his first at-bat, but he is basically jogging on the bases.

9:31: After Kendry Morales homer, the Angels take a 3-0 lead with two outs in the first. In the time the Rangers have recorded their last six outs, they have allowed 10 runs.

9:53: Dustin Nippert is up in the second inning. It’s the third time he’s been up and throwing in the last 30 hours.

10:09: Well, I don’t have a good feeling about this one. Not one bit. Dustin Nippert throwing again. Jiminy Christmas, the guy has thrown the equivalent of a quality start in the bullpen the last two days. Say good night, season. Here comes Ron Washington.

10:15: 2009 Season, it was nice to know you.

10:16: In their last five innings of work, Rangers pitchers have allowed 14 runs and the club has made three errors.

10:34: Rangers have now allowed runs in each of their last six innings of work.  … Why is Ian Kinsler being booed in Anaheim?

11:05: Bobby Abreu now a homer shy of cycle. Angels nine outs shy of clinching AL West title. And around pretty girls, I’m just shy period.

11:13: The Rangers will not officially be eliminated from the playoff race tonight. While they will be eliminated from AL West contention, they will still mathematically be alive in the wild card hunt. Boston’s magic number would be reduced to win, despite the fact the Red Sox lost Monday. The Red Sox will have clinched a tie, but not the final playoff spot until they either win again or the Rangers lose again.

11:20: A question was just raised. Can we Mercy Rule this game? I’m for it.

11:36: T-minus four outs to the Angels champagne shower.

7:30: Home Run Pool is open. And for your pre-game reading enjoyment, we’ve got some notes, quotes and anecdotes.If I’m not here before game-time, I should be back right around first pitch. I’m having a spot of grown-up dinner. Yay!

10:35: Elvis Andrus ties Ian Kinsler for the team lead in steals with a sixth-inning swipe. It gives him 29 in 33 attemps (87.9 percent). Among the majors most frequent runners, Andrus’ steal percentage is the best in baseball. The Rangers, currently with an 81.8 percent success rate, are on pace to set the AL record for best stolen base percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts.

11:30: The home run pool is open. And it’s glistening under this strange yellow light up in the sky. I’m not sure what you would call it, but it’s not the usual gray we are used to.

12:30: With runners on the corners and one out, Marlon Byrd takes a contested called third strike and it looks like first inning opportunity might evaporate. Then Hank Blalock bloops a two-out, two-strike single to left field for a hit. He drove in the winning run last night and has put the Rangers on top today. And, so, for all the complaining about his disappointing performance this season, there are reasons why you keep veterans around.

12:34: Another two-out, two-strike hit for Rangers, this one from Nelson Cruz. He had been in a 3-for-30 slump.  First multi-run inning for the Rangers since the first game of last Sunday’s doubleheader. It’s the first time they’ve scored as many as three runs in an inning since the ninth inning of a 10-0 win over Cleveland on Sept. 9. Quite a stretch.

12:38: John Lackey does not intimidate the Rangers. Ever. His career ERA at Rangers Ballpark is now 6.38.

1:04: Ian Kinsler’s sacrifice fly is first RBI since Sept. 8 and only second since Sept. 1.

1:59: So, now, if the Angels go on to win this game and put the Rangers’ slightly re-kindled hopes to bed once and for all, the second guess that will have to be discussed is whether starting Derek Holland over the more experienced Kevin Millwood was the right way to go.

2:05: With three homers allowed this afternoon, Derek Holland has allowed 25 in 127 innings this season. That’s an average of 1.77 per nine innings. It now ranks as the worst homers-per-nine rate among AL pitchers with at least 100 innings this season. Since the shutout of Los Angeles on August 9, Holland has allowed an average of 2.75 homers per nine innings. Coincidence? Or did something change after those nine innings?

3:17: Well, it’s over. The game. The glimmer of hope the Rangers generated for themselves last night. The season. They are 7.5 down with 14 to play. At this point, sweeping four games in Los Angeles next week would only get the Rangers to within three games. They need help from so many other places. And that help would only matter if the Rangers started playing better. A lot better. Just for reference: If the Rangers go 12-2 the rest of the way, the Angels could still win the division by going 5-8.

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.

ARLINGTON - Expecting a packed house this evening. Michael Young and Josh Hamilton remain sidelined. Young didn’t take batting practice and said he’s unsure when he’ll return Hamilton is expected to resume baseball-related activities on Monday. Both will be on the trip to Oakland. And Kevin Millwood is scheduled to start Monday night’s opener of the four-game series against the A’s.

1. Julio Borbon DH; 2. Elvis Andrus SS; 3. David Murphy LF; 4. Marlon Byrd CF; 5. Hank Blalock 1B; 6. Ian Kinsler 2B; 7. Nelson Cruz RF; 8. Chris Davis 3B; 9. Ivan Rodriguez C.

Given the state of the Rangers’ attack, feel free to also hazard a guess at who scores their first run of the game and the inning just for recreational purposes.

About the AL West Race

Los Angeles: Before Friday night’s game, Angels manager Mike Scioscia sounded like he wasn’t sure DH Vladimir Guerrero could start after sitting out Thursday night’s game at Boston, the result of being hit in the left rib cage on Wednesday night. Guerrero ended an eight-game Ballpark homerless streak during a 2-for-4. In 96 career games in Arlington, he’s hitting .397. LHP Scott Kazmir finally got his first win as an Angel in four starts. His six shutout innings lowered his LAA ERA to 1.42.

On Saturday night, RHP Jered Weaver (15-6, 3.85) will try to improve his career record against the Rangers to 5-2. In five starts against them this season, he has a 4.88 ERA. He has won eight of his last 11 decisions and 12 of 16. He’ll be opposed by RHP Scott Feldman (16-5, 3.65). He pitched six-plus innings on Monday in the Rangers’ 9-0 loss to Oakland. In three previous starts this season against the Angels, Feldman is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

About the AL Wild Card Race

Boston: The Red Sox continue to receive excellent starting pitching. RHP Clay Buchholz won at Camden Yards on Friday night with his eighth quality start in his last nine outings. Since Sept. 6, the Red Sox haven’t allowed more than three runs in their 11 games to go 9-2. C Victor Martinez had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. 3B Kevin Youkilis returned to the lineup on Friday night after missing three games with a bad back and went 0-for-4. CF Jacoby Ellsbury tweaked his groin in the top of the first, stayed in the game and should play Saturday night.

LHP Jon Lester (13-7, 3.29) will bring a 17-inning scoreless streak into Saturday night’s start. In his last 19 games, he’s 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA. In three career starts against Baltimore, he’s 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA. An Orioles lineup that had already traded 1B Aubrey Huff and lost CF Adam Jones to injury lost rookie LF Nolan Reimold for the rest of the season before Friday night’s game. Reimold, the A.L. rookie leader in homers (15), on-base percentage (.365) and slugging percentage (.466), needs surgery on his left Achilles’ tendon. On Saturday night, the Orioles will start RHP David Hernandez (4-8, 5.40). He has failed to get through five innings in five of his last nine starts.

If The Playoffs Started Today

Detroit @New York; Boston @Los Angeles

6:33: The home run pool is open until sundown or first pitch – whichever comes first. The Rangers are going to play without Michael Young again; his hamstring is still sore.

7:12: Manager Ron Washington says now that RHP Kevin Millwood will start either Monday or Tuesday at Oakland. Earlier this week, Washington indicated Millwood would start the series opener on Monday. Washington maintained Friday, however, that Millwood will start sometime during the Angels series. That said, if the Rangers lose two of three this weekend, what’s to keep them from deciding they are out of the race and that they want to start looking at young pitchers? It would almost certainly insure agent Scott Boras would file a grievance over the club withholding starts and denying Millwood a chance to make $12 million in 2010. But, if the club doesn’t want Millwod back or doesn’t want him back at $12 million, the options are to take him out of the rotation and take the chance it could win a grievance. Or, it could potentially try to negotiate a buyout of the contract. Suppose, the Rangers offered Millwood $6 of $7 million and then he signed a $4-5 million deal on the free agent market that might even include some incentives. He’d have a chance to make more than $12 million in 2010 and the Rangers would save money, too.

7:25: In regards to this post from yesterday, I think after some soul searching and a couple of glasses of wine last night at SideDish Supper Club, I still feel the same way I did earlier this week. Mainly, I think last week’s wet weather and weird scheduling sapped energy from the Rangers. I just don’t think they’ve recovered. There have been technical reasons, too. A club could only go so long without its two top bats in the lineup before things caught up with them.  Marlon Byrd had been carrying the team offensively for a week, for a example. But the rain shorted out his electric bat. After a hot start, Ivan Rodriguez  cooled off. And with no Michael Young or Josh Hamilton in the lineup, there was very little in the way of real offensive threats.

7:42: Fine defensive inning by Nelson Cruz in right field. Though his peripherals are all outstanding when it comes to defensive outfielders, Cruz has taken some criticism for his reads on balls this season. On the first play, a one-out arcing liner by Maicer Izturis, Cruz charged the ball and made perfect throw home to force Juan Rivera back to third base. On the next play, he ran down Bobby Abreu’s long fly ball, reaching up and catching it aas he plowed into the wall.

8:19: Current scoreless streak reaches 17 innings with three tonight. It’s the second longest of the week.

9:26: Streak update: We’re now at 21 scoreless and counting. If the Rangers are shutout again, it will extend this streak to the longest of the week, surpassing the 22 innings Sunday-Tuesday.

9:46: The Rangers put the season in the hands of Andruw Jones, letting the struggling DH hit with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning. Alas, he flied to right on a 2-and-2 pitch to end the inning. The Rangers have now gone 22 consecutive scoreless innings, appear headed for their fifth consecutive loss and seem destined to fall 7.5 games behind the Angels in the AL West. That’s with 16 games left. The season, my friends, died tonight. It was on a respirator all week. But barring a ninth-inning uprising, this will be the loss that puts the season to bed.

“I think the Cowboys playing Sunday is going to take away everything,” said Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter of Prosper. “It’s going to drain the Texas Rangers’ drive.”

“Nobody thought about the Rangers doing this. These guys have played great baseball, and now they’re going to get overshadowed.”

The Angels come in having salvaged the finale of a three-game series at Fenway to restore their lead in the A.L. West to 6.5 games. They’ve lost nine of 12 games against the Rangers so far this season, but Texas manager Ron Washington said he expects to see a different Angels team. One with a killer instinct. (They did watch “Troy” on the flat screen in clubhouse this afternoon.) Hunter agrees.

“We had the killer instinct; they just had a bigger killer instinct,” he said with a laugh. “They beat us down. That was a couple of months ago. Now we’re here. We have a different mindset.”

They go from traditional, frenetic Fenway to Arlington, where the Rangers haven’t played in front of a home crowd of 25,000 in a month and have faced rainouts, rain delays and atypically bad weather for more than a week. The three games against the Angels in May attracted almost 105,000, when the Rangers were building a lead in the division. When LAA came back through in late June having moved into first place, the three games pulled in about 65,000.

“Yes, there’s a lot of energy up there with the Red Sox,” Hunter said. “The Red Sox fans support their ballclub. Just like the Yankee fans. It’s a different breed of fan up there. I understand the energy, the atmosphere can pump you up and put you over the edge. But coming here is just as important. They’re right behind us. They’re playing good baseball … well, I don’t know about lately … but they’ve been keeping us going, keeping us on the edge of our seat the whole time.”

Said Angels manager Mike Scioscia: “These are tough games anywhere you play. Boston is a terrific team. Texas has a terrific club. It’s about what happens on the field, not the environment.”