Athletics sweep Rangers to win AL West on last day
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oakland Athletics' Josh Reddick, left, receives high-fives after scoring on a single from Seth Smith during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oakland Athletics' Josh Reddick, left, receives high-fives after scoring on a single from Seth Smith during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
OAKLAND, Calif. >>The Oakland Athletics captured the AL West with another improbable rally in a season full of them, coming back from four runs down and a 13-game division deficit to stun the two-time defending league champion Texas Rangers 12-5 today.
Josh Hamilton dropped a fly ball in center field for a two-run error that put the A’s (94-66) ahead 7-5 in a six-run fourth inning. Hamilton’s Rangers (93-67) are headed to the new one-game, wild-card playoff on the heels of just their second three-game sweep of 2012.
Both teams had to wait to learn their opponents from a pair of night games: Boston at New York, and Baltimore at Tampa Bay.
