 won for the 11th time in 12 games to stay 1 1/2 games ahead of Oakland for the top AL wild-card spot. The A's won 21-7 at AL West-leading Houston, a night after a 15-0 loss.Tampa Bay had two on with two outs in the 11th against Emmanuel Clase (2-3) when the rookie reliever bobbled a slow roller by Kean Wong and had his desperate throw bounce away from the first baseman. Second baseman Rougned Odor picked it up and made a high errant throw into left field with a runner diving back into second base, and Nate Lowe scored the tiebreaking run from third. Guillermo Heredia followed with an RBI single.Joey Wendle led off the Rays eighth with a triple off just-entered reliever Rafael Montero, and Meadows followed with his 29th homer to tie the game at 3-3.Wendle's RBI single in the fifth was the only run Tampa Bay got in seven innings off Rangers starter Lance Lynn.Emilo Pagan (4-2) struck out two in a perfect 10th before Peter Fairbanks worked the 11th for his first career save.Fairbanks was traded from Texas to Tampa Bay on July 13 for rookie infielder Nick Solak, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Rangers and had a two-out infield single off the pitcher he was traded for in the 11th.The Rangers didn't have a base runner against lefty starter Ryan Yarbrough until Shin-Soo Choo was hit by a pitch leading off the fourth. Choo came home an out later when Willie Calhoun lined a double into the left field corner, and Solak followed with his third homer in his 20 games since his big league debut Aug. 20.Those were the only three runs allowed by Yarbrough, who struck out seven and walked one in seven innings. The lefty hasn't lost in his last 15 appearance (seven starts) since early June.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: CF Kevin Kiermaier thought he would be back in the lineup, but manager Kevin Cash held him out after he left the previous game Sunday with a stiff neck. An MRI showed no issues. ''Necks are very tricky. And when you have a stiff neck, sore neck like he does, it affects every little movement,'' Cash said. ... LF Tommy Pham was also out with a forearm/elbow issue. He could return Wednesday, maybe as the DH. ... LHP Blake Snell, out since July 22 because of surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, is scheduled to go two innings or 30 pitches for Triple-A Durham in Game 3 of the International League championship series Thursday. His first rehab start was Saturday in the semifinal series clincher for the Bulls.Rangers: All-Star slugger Joey Gallo, who last played July 22 before right wrist surgery, took some swings against live pitching. Manager Chris Woodward said Gallo looked fine and felt decent. The hope is that Gallo can play a few games before the end of the season. ''He's had such a good year and he's made so many strides forward, I'd like to send him off with something positive he did on the field, not out of the training room,'' Woodward said of Gallo, who has hit .253 with 22 homers and 49 RBIs in 70 games.UP NEXTBoth teams could start the middle game of the three-game series with relievers. The Rangers have used an opener in front of Ariel Jurado in his last two starts. The right-hander has allowed 27 runs (21 earned) his last 23 2/3 innings.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Wild-card leader Rays look to Yarbrough vs. RangersFLMThe Tampa Bay Rays are holding steady in their push for the postseason, and the team will turn to one of its steadiest arms as the club opens a pivotal three-game series against the host Texas Rangers in Arlington on Tuesday.Winners of five straight and 10 of their last 11 games, the Rays will have Ryan Yarbrough on the mound at Globe Life Park.Yarbrough (11-3, 3.49 ERA) will get the ball as the Rays look to fortify their spot in the American League wild-card race. Tampa Bay currently holds the first position, with slight leads ahead of Oakland and Cleveland.Yarbrough, 27, has been sharp of late, turning in some of his best work over his last six appearances, five of them starts.He has posted a 2.25 ERA and held opposing batters to a .195 average, and the team is 5-1 in the games he has worked in August and September.Yarbrough will be making his first appearance against Texas this season, and he has made just one career appearance, in relief, against the Rangers.In 2018, he earned a win against Texas but wasn't sharp in doing it. The left-hander allowed five hits and three runs with six strikeouts in his four innings, but the stint was good enough for the victory.Manager Kevin Cash pulled Yarbrough last month in Seattle with the pitcher just one out from completing a shutout in a masterful outing.The move was viewed as controversial at the time, but the skipper stuck by his decision."Anytime you take a ball from somebody in that situation it's difficult. I think in fairness, though, you've got to stand by the decision and felt that was our best decision to help us win the game at that moment," Cash said.The Rangers will counter with Lance Lynn (14-10, 3.81), and Texas has won four straight and sits just one game under .500 at 72-73.Lynn has struggled mightily in his last six starts and will try to rebound and regain some form on Tuesday.The right-hander is 0-4 with a 4.28 ERA and a hefty 1.49 WHIP in his last six starts, although he allowed just a single run in three of those starts -- with only one disastrous start among them (seven runs and 11 hits allowed in 5 2/3 innings on Aug. 23 at Chicago White Sox).Lynn beat the Rays 5-0 on June 28 by yielding just three hits and a walk while fanning 10.Lynn is 1-1 with a 3.49 ERA in four career starts and one relief appearance against the American League East club in his career.First-year manager Chris Woodward won't see his team make the postseason, but the Rangers manager is encouraged by what he has seen from his team and likes the work he and his staff have put in in their first season in Texas."I've enjoyed the difficulty of trying to create a new culture, setting a new culture, bringing a whole list of new processes and ideas. I enjoy the idea of leading an organization," Woodward said."Not because I love the spotlight or love being on the top; I just feel there is a better way of doing things, better way of treating people and collaborating with people around me."If we finish over .500, it would surprise people, but I want to create a culture of winning in that locker room." --Field Level Media
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