The Rangers were three outs away from their third AL West title in the past six years. With a four-run lead in the top of the ninth with closer Shawn Tolleson on the mound, the Rangers clubhouse was prepping for a champagne celebration.
Then the unthinkable happened at Globe Life Park. Pitching for the fifth straight day, Tolleson quickly gave up back to back home runs to Erick Aybar and Kole Calhoun. The four run lead was cut to two as Tolleson was replaced by Ross Ohlendorf.
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Facing the heart of the order, Ohlendorf got Mike Trout to ground out, but allowed a one-out double to Albert Pujols. After striking out David Murphy, Ohlendorf was two strikes away from clinching the division, but chaos ensued.
C.J. Cron, David Freese, Carlos Perez and Johnny Giavotella connected on four straight singles as the Halos completed an epic five-run comeback to defeat the Rangers 11-10.
Call it a comeback. DEFINITELY CALL IT A COMEBACK. pic.twitter.com/ZwIGh5HBdo
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) October 3, 2015With the win, the Angels keep their postseason hopes alive. They now trail the Astros by a half-game for the second wild card. The Astros face the Diamondbacks Saturday night.
Should the Astros lose, the Rangers will still win the AL West.