Say it ain’t so Joe, Nathan Loses Game in 9th

After taking the lead in the 3rd, the Texas Rangers were unable close the game when Closer Joe Nathan gave up 2 runs in the 9th and costing Yu Darvish his 17th win.  With the win, the Angels were able to stay in the Wildcard race after seeing Saturday’s game get rained out and taking a 2-0 series lead.The Rangers got the offense started in the 2nd with Beltre singling to start the inning followed by Cruz homering to left field. The Rangers were able to add 2 more runs in the 3rd inning, and Darvish was able to keep the Angels at bay by only allowing 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings. Alexi Ogando followed Darvish with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

In the top of the 9th, the Rangers had a sense of a win with in reach and with Joe Nathan getting the first hitter out and going up 0-2 on Iannetta after Izturis getting a single the fans believed as well, but Iannetta was able to battle back for a walk. The Angels were able to score their 2 runs off the hot hitting Torii Hunter who had a 4 hit game.

Los Angeles Angels (88-70) 5, Texas Rangers (92-66) 4
September 30, 2012

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LA Angels 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 5 11 0 Texas 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 0