Rangers on brink of winning AL West, defeat Tigers, 6-2

ARLINGTON, Texas _ The American League West will be clinched at some point in the next four days, and the Texas Rangers know exactly what they need to do to win their first division title since 2011.tmpplchld Win.tmpplchld One win will eliminate the Los Angeles Angels, the Rangers’ opponent for their final four games. Depending on how Houston did in its late game at Seattle, one win might eliminate the Astros and clinch the whole thing.tmpplchld As soon as Thursday night. That’s the best case.tmpplchld It might take two wins but no more than after the Rangers dumped the Detroit Tigers 6-2 on Wednesday and the Angels lost to last-place Oakland 8-7. That leaves the Rangers’ magic number at two over the Angels and the Astros, too, pending the result at Seattle.tmpplchld Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli hit two-run homers and Robinson Chirinos had a solo shot in support of Yovani Gallardo, who allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings to win his 13th game of the season Wednesday.tmpplchld But Gallardo was behind 2-0 after the Tigers’ first turn, as J.D. Martinez and Tyler Collins knocked in a run apiece with singles. The deficit didn’t last long, however.tmpplchld Shin-Soo Choo singled with one out in the Rangers’ first, and Beltre followed with his 17th homer of the season. Chirinos started the third with his 10th of the season to spark a four-run inning and put the Rangers in the lead for good.tmpplchld Beltre doubled three batters later and raced home as Prince Fielder dropped a blooper into center field for his 96th RBI of the season. Napoli was next, and he crushed the first pitch from Matt Boyd over the seats in left field.tmpplchld That was it for both offenses, though the Tigers had at least one base runner in every inning. Gallardo (13-11) escaped the fifth after the Tigers opened with a walk and a single, but the Fort Worth resident was yanked after consecutive one-out singles in the sixth.tmpplchld Four relievers finished off the series win and all but finished off the Angels and the Astros. The bullpen, a reborn Choo and a reinvented Beltre have been the main cogs in the Rangers’ surge from nine games back July 20, eight games back Aug. 2 and 5 1/2 games back Aug. 26.tmpplchld Rangers manager Jeff Banister has been hesitant to look too far ahead, but the insertion of Chirinos into the starting lineup was an indication that the Rangers are thinking about potential playoff rosters.tmpplchld They need to know if Chirinos, their Opening Day catcher, can take on a more prominent role behind the plate. Chirinos was making only his second start since July while dealing with a nagging injury to his left biceps.tmpplchld The same holds true with Josh Hamilton, who is likely to start when the Angels start right-handers.tmpplchld But Banister and pitching coach Mike Maddux had been looking at the Angels series having significance. That’s the primary reason they pushed left-hander Cole Hamels out of the Houston series last weekend, a move that lined him up for the regular-season finale Sunday.tmpplchld “I felt like that series was going to mean a lot,” Banister said. “We wanted to go ahead and have that choice.”tmpplchld That game still could have significance, but the Rangers know what they need to do.tmpplchld Win.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Fort Worth Star-Telegramtmpplchld Visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at www.star-telegram.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld