Angels edged by Rangers in Arlington

ARLINGTON — Another comeback and another one-run victory have pushed the Rangers to the brink of the American League West title.

The Rangers trailed by two after two innings but went ahead on Nomar Mazara’s two-run home run and held on with a superb effort from the bullpen for a 5-4 victory over the Angels at Globe Life Park on Tuesday night.

The victory dropped the Rangers’ magic number for winning the AL West title to two. Since the Astros and the Mariners were tied for second, the Rangers needed both to lose late Tuesday night on the West Coast to drop the magic number to one and clinch at least a tie for the division, but Houston topped the Athletics in Oakland.

“There is no exhale in this league,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “This is the best league on the planet. You’ve got to stay focused and stay ready. It’s all about finishing, and we have to find a way to finish.”

The Rangers can clinch the West on Wednesday with an Astros loss to the A’s in the afternoon and a victory over the Angels in the series finale.

Rangers starter A.J. Griffin went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks. Two of the walks forced in runs. But five Rangers relievers combined to hold the Angels to one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings for the win. Nick Martinez was first out of the bullpen, and he pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to get the victory.

The Angels went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and ended up losing for the 11th time in their last 14 games. Starter Daniel Wright took the loss after allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

“I put myself in a lot of bad counts, and I don’t have the stuff to pitch out of bad counts,” Wright said. “I need to throw strikes and go after guys. They hit some good pitches hard, but there were a lot of bad pitches, too.”

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