ARLINGTON, Texas -- Troy Glaus kept fouling off Francisco Cordero's best pitches.
Glaus then hit the mistake out of the park and helped put Anaheim back in sole possession of first place in the AL West. The Angels won 8-7 in 11 innings Wednesday night, ending the Texas Rangers' surprising playoff chase.
Glaus' two-run homer came on the 10th pitch of his at-bat. It was the first long ball allowed by Cordero in 66 appearances this season.
"He kept fouling pitches off and then I threw a hanging slider," said Cordero, who had blown a save by giving up a ninth-inning run with two outs.
"I don't think you'll see a much better at-bat," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "There was a battler on the mound and a battler at the plate. He made a mistake and Troy didn't miss it."
Anaheim (90-68) had moved back into first place for the first time since June 8 by winning the first two games in Texas. The tie with Oakland (89-69) was broken when the Athletics lost 4-2 to Seattle later Wednesday night.
The Angels finish their series Thursday in Texas before a season-ending three-game set at Oakland this weekend.
Darin Erstad reached on a one-out single and then scored on Glaus' homer to center, his 18th of the season and 33rd in his career against the Rangers.
"I was just trying to get on base for the big guys behind me," Glaus said.
Texas (86-72) lost its fourth straight game, and fifth of six since sweeping three games from the Athletics last week. The Rangers spent most of July in first place and were a surprise contender after four straight last-place finishes when they averaged 90 losses a season.
"Tonight was kind of a microcosm of the season," first baseman Mark Teixeira said. "We were up, we were down and in the end we just couldn't pull it out. I guess you can look at our whole season that way. We had a good season, just couldn't pull it out in the end."
Scot Shields (8-2) pitched two shutout innings for the win, and Troy Percival pitched the 11th for his 32nd save in 37 chances.
Eric Young tripled off Percival and scored on Hank Blalock's sacrifice fly, cutting it to 8-7.
Vladimir Guerrero's two-out single in the ninth off Cordero kept Anaheim alive, and Curtis Pride drove him in with a double that hit about halfway up the center-field wall to tie the game at 6.
It was the fifth blown save for Cordero, who has a team-record 48 saves this season.
The Rangers took a 6-5 lead in the eighth when pinch-runner Andy Fox scored on Laynce Nix's sacrifice fly.
After replacing Brian Jordan, Fox moved from first to third on two wild pitches by Francisco Rodriguez. Kevin Mench drew a leadoff walk but was thrown out on Jordan's bunt when the reliever bounced off the mound and threw to second.
Nix's flyball to center wasn't that deep, but Jeff DaVanon's throw wasn't close.
DaVanon moved from left to center, and Pride took over in left, in the bottom of the seventh when Garret Anderson left with a sore left knee. The Angels said Anderson irritated the patella tendon. It was unclear when and how he was hurt, but Anderson lined out in the top of the seventh.
Both starting pitchers gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the fifth.
Kameron Loe, making his first major league start for Texas, walked six batters, hit one and made a throwing error. If not for double plays in the second through fourth innings, the damage would have been worse.
The Angels led 3-0 in the first after DaVanon hit a two-run triple with two outs and scored when second baseman Eric Young's relay throw deflected off the sliding DaVanon.
After Loe left with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth, Anderson hit an infield grounder. The Rangers went for the double play and got one out, but shortstop Michael Young's throwing error allowed a second run to score.
Jarrod Washburn, who gave up just an unearned run in eight innings against Texas on Sept. 19, allowed five runs on nine hits -- the last two to start the fifth before he was pulled.
Jordan's second sacrifice fly tied the game 5-all right after Washburn left. Chad Allen then hit a flyball, and Mench was thrown out at home by right fielder Guerrero to end the inning.
Jordan's first sac capped the Rangers' four-run third and made it 4-3. Eric Young and Mench had RBI doubles and Michael Young tied a Rangers record with his 210th hit, an RBI single.
The All-Star shortstop added an infield single in the ninth for No. 211, breaking Mickey Rivers' record of 210 hits in 1980. Young had 204 hits last year and is the only Rangers player with two 200-hit seasons.
Notes
- Glaus struck out against Jeff Nelson to end the sixth with two runners on. Glaus is 0-for-12 in his career vs. Nelson with 11 strikeouts and five walks.
- Guerrero has 12 outfield assists this season, 96 in his career.
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