Texas Rangers Beat the Los Angeles Angels to Extend Their AL West Lead

Josh Hamilton broke out of his slump with a two-run homer and the tiebreaking RBI single for the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, who rallied for a 9-5 victory over the chasing Los Angeles Angels.

Hamilton's homer in the third off Angels starter Jered Weaver (15-7) tied the game at 4, and his single in the seventh put the Rangers ahead 6-5. The reigning AL MVP had been 3 for 21 on the homestand without an RBI the past four games.

Hamilton said he was seeing Weaver's pitches really well, "When you faced a guy as much as I faced Jered Weaver, you start to pick up on things.  He comes at you and establishes the fastball the first at-bat. Then he goes to his off-speed stuff., especially if there are guys on base in scoring position."

Rangers reliever Mike Adams (pictured) pitched a scoreless 8th inning before Neftali Feliz shut the Angels down in the 9th.

Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz strained his left hamstring on a double in the 6th inning.  Cruz was on the disabled list three times last season with hamstring injuries.

Texas (76-59) had lost seven of 10 games, watching its division lead against the Angels shrink from seven games to two, before winning the finale against the Angels and extending their lead to three games. The AL West's top two teams don't play again until a three-game series in Anaheim to end the regular season.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report