The Rangers just couldn’t muster much offense against the Orioles last night, spreading out 9 singles. Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz and Michael Young each went 2 for 4 in this game. Ian Kinsler was 2 for 3 with 1 run scored for the Rangers last night. That was pretty much the extent of the offense. Yu Darvish didn’t pitch that badly, but he was the losing pitcher. He worked the first 6 2/3 innings last night, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), walking no one and whiffing 7 batters. Derek Holland worked 1/3 of an inning, allowing 1 hit and whiffing 1 batter. Koji Uehara was awesome against his old team, working 1 shutout inning and whiffing all three batters he faced. Joe Nathan had a rough time in the 9th inning, allowing 2 hits, walking a batter and giving up 2 runs (both earned). So the Rangers season has ended with a loud thud.

The Texas Rangers have faded big time down the stretch, forcing them into this winner take all Wild Card Game. Ron Washington is 18-15 (54.5%) in the playoffs so far in his career. He has chosen 26-year old righty Yu Darvish to start this game. He has never faced the Orioles, which is likely an advantage for the pitcher. Darvish pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Darvish finished strongly in September, starting 5 games in which he was 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP. The Rangers hope that his good pitching carries over into the playoffs, starting tonight. He will have to be careful with the Orioles’ lineup as they have a lot of lefty power with Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Nate McLouth and Jim Thome in the lineup.

The Orioles are going to start 31-year old lefty Joe Saunders. That was a curious choice as Saunders has not pitched too well against the Rangers in his career. He has started 11 games against the Rangers so far in his career and he is 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has given up an amazing 15 homers in only 58 1/3 innings against the Rangers so far in his career. The Rangers have a lot of guys with success against Saunders so far in their careers. Michael Young (10 for 28, 1 homer and 3 RBIs), Ian Kinsler (10 for 24, 4 homers and 8 RBIs), Nelson Cruz (6 for 20, 2 homers and 3 RBIs), Josh Hamilton (4 of 10, 1 homer and 6 RBIs) and Geovany Soto (4 of 6, 1 homer and 1 RBI) all like hitting against Saunders.

The Rangers scored two runs in the top of the 1st inning but that was all they could muster in this game. Ian Kinsler was 2 for 3 with 1 walk in this game. Josh Hamilton went 1 for 4 with 1 run scored, a double and 1 RBI despite not moving too well due to a groin injury. Michael Young was 1 for 4 with a double and a RBI. Mike Napoli (1 for 4) and David Murphy (1 for 4 with a double) were the rest of the offense for the Rangers in this game as they had a hard time with Chris Carpenter and the rest of the Cardinals’ pitchers. Matt Harrison got the start and it was a rough one for him. He pitched the first four innings in which he gave up 5 hits and 3 runs (all earned) while walking 2 batters and whiffing 1. Scott Feldman was terrible in this game as he only got two guys out while walking 3 batters and allowing 2 runs (both of which were earned). C.J. Wilson pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings and he whiffed 2 batters as he was solid. Mike Adams had another rough game as he worked 2/3 of an inning in which he gave up 2 hits, 1 run (it was earned), while walking and whiffing 1 batter. Mike Gonzalez worked a solid inning in which he got all three batters out that he faced (he whiffed two of them). Alexi Ogando struck out the only batter he faced last night. The Rangers season has ended with a thud once again, as they have lost the World Series, 4 games to 3.

Mike Napoli, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus are hitting the ball well in the World Series and the Rangers need them to keep up the good work tonight. Napoli has been pretty darn awesome in this series as he has played in 6 games in which he is 6 for 16 (.375 avg, 1.313 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. Adrian Beltre is also swinging a red hot stick as he has played in all six games for the Rangers in which he is 9 for 27 (.333 avg, .963 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Ian Kinsler is only 1 for three stealing bases but he is still 7 for 22 (.318 avg, .828 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs in the first six games. Elvis Andrus has also given the Rangers a spark at the top of the order as he is 8 for 27 (.296 avg, .630 OPS) with 4 runs scored. The Rangers need to get to Chris Carpenter early tonight if they are going to win the World Series.

The Cardinals are on a roll right now after winning an improbable game last night. The Rangers can’t let the disappointment from last night’s loss trickle into tonight’s game. The Rangers are going to start young lefty Matt Harrison against crafty righty Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals. Harrison has pitched in 1 game (1 start) for the Rangers so far in the World Series and he is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Harrison has now pitched in 4 games (3 starts) so far in the post-season and he is 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Rangers need Harrison to pitch like he did during the regular season as the Cardinals have a very impressive offense. Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals has already pitched in 2 games (both starts) in the World Series already and he is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 5 games (all starts) in the post-season for the Cardinals and he is 3-0 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

The Rangers’ bullpen just couldn’t hold leads last night and it cost them this game. The Rangers had two outs in the ninth inning and two strikes on David Freese when he ripped a 2-run triple to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Josh Hamilton then cranked a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning, but Lance Berkman hit a single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to tie this game. David Freese then came up in the 11th inning and he ripped a solo homer to give the Cardinals an improbable win.

Josh Hamilton led the way for the Rangers in this game as he was 3 for 6 with 1 run scored, a homer and 3 RBIs. Ian Kinsler (2 for 5 with 1 run scored, a double and 2 RBIs) and Elvis Andrus (2 for 6 with 1 run scored) gave the Rangers some juice at the top of the order. Adrian Beltre (1 for 6 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) and Nelson Cruz (1 for 6 with 2 runs and 1 RBI) each ripped solo homers in this game. Michael Young (2 for 4 with a double and a RBI) and Mike Napoli (2 for 3 with 3 walks and 1 RBI) also had good games with the bat. Young had some issues in the field with two costly errors.

Colby Lewis started the game and he was solid. He worked the first 5 1/3 innings in this game and he gave up 3 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), while walking 3 batters and whiffing 4. Alexi Ogando worked a 1/3 of an inning but he walked in two of Lewis’ runs. Derek Holland was next in line and he worked 2 innings allowing 2 hits and 1 run (it was earned). Mike Adams worked 1/3 of an inning and he gave up 2 hits but no runs. Neftali Feliz blew a rare save by working 1 inning in which he gave up 2 hits, 2 runs (both earned), while walking 1 batter and whiffing 2. Lefty Darren Oliver was the next pitcher to blow a save for the Rangers last night as he worked 1/3 of an inning in which he gave up 2 hits and 2 runs (both earned). Scott Feldman followed him in the game and he wasn’t too effective either. He pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 1 hit and walking 1 batter. Mark Lowe pitched to one batter in the 11th inning and he gave up a walk-off homer to David Freese of the Cardinals. This Series is tied up at 3 games apiece with a winner take all Game #7 in St. Louis tonight!

The Rangers had some magic off the bat of Mike Napoli in the bottom of the 8th to give them the win last night. Napoli was only 1 for 4 on the night, but his hit was a 2-run double that gave the Rangers the 4-2 lead heading into the 9th inning. Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland both were 1 for 4 with solo homers last night. Josh Hamilton (1 for 3 with a walk), Michael Young (1 for 4 with a double and a run scored), Nelson Cruz (1 for 3 with a run scored) and David Murphy (2 for 4) also helped out with the bats for the Rangers last night. C.J. Wilson was so-so last night for the Rangers as he worked 5 1/3 innings in which he gave up 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), while walking 5 batters and whiffing 3. Scott Feldman was up next and he worked 2/3 of an inning allowing 1 hit, no runs and he whiffed 1 batter. Alexi Ogando worked a very tough inning as he gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, 0 runs and he whiffed 1 batter. Darren Oliver worked a scoreless 8th inning without allowing a baserunner as he whiffed 1 batter. He was the winning pitcher. Neftali Feliz earned the save by working a scoreless, hitless inning in which he walked 1 batter and whiffed 2, to earn the save. The Rangers are now up 3-2 on the World Series as it shifts to St. Louis.

The Texas Rangers evened up the World Series behind starting pitcher Derek Holland who was awesome last night. Holland worked the first 8 1/3 innings last night in which he gave up only 2 hits and 0 runs while whiffing 7 batters and walking only two. He was the winning pitcher. Neftali Feliz got the last two outs to finish off the Cardinals in this game. Mike Napoli provided the firepower for the Rangers last night when he cranked a three-run homer off of Mitchell Boggs in the bottom of the sixth inning. He finished up 1 for 2 with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs last night. Elvis Andrus (2 for 4 with a double and a run scored), Josh Hamilton (1 for 4 with a double and a RBI) and Nelson Cruz (1 for 2 with 1 run scored) also had solid games with the bats for the Rangers. The Rangers have now tied up the World Series at 2 games apiece with Game #5 in Texas tonight.

Every pitcher the Rangers used gave up at least 1 run last night and that was way too much for the batters to overcome. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals made sure the Rangers weren’t coming back as he jacked three homers in his last three ABs. He became only the third player ever to hit 3 homers in a World Series Game (Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson). Matt Harrison started for the Rangers and he was the losing pitcher last night. He worked 3 2/3 innings allowing 6 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), while walking 1 batter and whiffing 3. Scott Feldman brought in the gas can, like every reliever the Rangers’ used tonight, as he worked 1 1/3 innings in which he allowed 2 hits, walked 2 batters and he gave up 3 runs (all earned). Alexi Ogando continued to pitch B.P. in the World Series as he worked only 1/3 of an inning but he allowed 3 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) while walking 2 batters and whiffing 1. Mike Gonzalez was next up for a beating as he worked 1 2/3 innings in which he gave up 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 runs (both earned). Mark Lowe pitched the 8th inning and he gave up 2 hits and 1 run (it was earned). Darren Oliver worked the 9th inning and he gave up 1 hit and 1 run (it was earned) with 2 strikeouts. Adrian Beltre led the way for the Rangers last night with the bat as he was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 1 double and 1 RBI. Michael Young (2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs) and Nelson Cruz (1 for 4 with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs) each cranked a homer apiece last night. Elvis Andrus (2 for 5 with 1 run scored and a double), Mike Napoli (1 for 2 with 2 RBIs) and Yorvit Torrealba (2 for 3) also pitched in with the sticks last night. The Cardinals are now up 2-1 in the World Series with Game #4 tonight.

The Texas Rangers’ pitching staff deserves a lot of credit for giving the team a chance to come back in this game. Colby Lewis worked the first 6 2/3 innings last night and he only gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, 1 run (it was earned), while whiffing 4 batters as he was impressive. Alexi Ogando got one guy out but not until after Allen Craig got another run scoring hit off of him (he knocked in Lewis’ runner). Mike Adams earned the win by pitching a scoreless 8th inning. Neftali Feliz worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save, as he was downright nasty last night. The Rangers only could muster five hits last night, but two of them came in the 9th inning. Ian Kinsler (2 for 3 with 1 walk, 1 run scored and 1 stolen base) led off the ninth inning with a single. He moved to 3B on a single by Elvis Andrus and scored on a sacrifice fly from Josh Hamilton, which moved Andrus to 3B. Michael Young then knocked in Andrus with a sacrifice play and that’s all the offense the Rangers would need to win last night. The Rangers have tied the World Series at 1 game apiece as it shifts to Texas for the next three games.