Rangers force AL wild-card tiebreaker

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― The Texas Rangers had to keep winning to keep playing. After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs.

Craig Gentry had a key two-run single, Geovany Soto had a tiebreaking RBI double and a solo homer, and the Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Sunday to force a one-game tiebreaker for the second AL wild-card spot.

“They showed heart, fight, gut ― any other adjective you want to find,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

The Rangers (91-71), who began September with the AL West lead before a 5-15 slide, added game No. 163 to the regular season.

They will host Tampa Bay on Monday night in baseball’s first wild-card tiebreaker since 2007.

The winner plays two days later at wild-card leader Cleveland for a berth against Boston in the division series.

Marlins give Alvarez no-no

MIAMI (AP) ― With the bases loaded, two outs and the score 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Henderson Alvarez stood in the Miami Marlins’ on-deck circle, bat in hand, hoping to complete his no-hitter.

Alvarez had blanked the Detroit Tigers for nine innings ― and briefly, mistakenly thought he had pitched a no-hitter. But the Marlins needed a run for him to achieve the feat.

Giancarlo Stanton crossed the plate standing up when a breaking ball skipped to the backstop, and Alvarez had his no-hitter, beating the Tigers on the final day of the regular season Sunday, 1-0.

Cleveland 5, Minnesota 1

Tampa Bay 7, Toronto 6

Pittsburgh 4, Cincinnati 2

NY Mets 3, Milwaukee 2

Baltimore 7, Boston 6

Atlanta 12, Philadelphia 5

Kansas City 4, Chicago 1

NY Yankees 5, Houston 1

St. Louis 4, Chicago Cubs 0

San Francisco 7, San Diego 6

Oakland 9, Seattle 0

Arizona 3, Washington 2