Rangers Blank Royals - 3-0

C.J. Wilson (above) continues to dominate the second half of the season as he shut down the Royals, pitching into the eighth inning for his 14th win of the season. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

The hottest pitcher since the All-Star break continued to impress Monday evening as the Texas Rangers (74-57) took care of business against the Kansas City Royals (55-76). C.J. Wilson (W, 14-5) gave the Rangers 7 2-3 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. The lefty did have some control issues, walking four batters, but did strike out six. It's the fourth straight game Wilson has struck out at least six as the converted reliever has dominated in the last month and a half.

A's Take Two Of Three From Rangers

Texas fails to extend division lead, allows Oakland to keep A.L. West hopes alive. A's second-baseman Mark Ellis (above) homered in the last game of the series, an 8-3 Oakland win. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After the Texas Rangers (73-57) dished out a 7-3 beatdown Friday night against the Oakland A's (65-64), a series that looked so promising for Texas was turned on it's head over the final two games. The A's outscored the Rangers by a total of 13-2 over the last two games of the series, shrinking the American League West division lead to 7.5 games.

"It's big as far as momentum is concerned," said Dallas Braden, who pitched the A's to a win in game two of the series. "It's big to come back and swing the bats well, play defense well. Obviously those things are a huge part of any kind of push you want to make."

Oakland certainly pushed it's way back into the division-conversation in winning the final two games of the series and A's pitching led the way.

Cowboys Not Ready For Prime Time

Dallas was demolished in the final real tuneup game before the start of the regular season, losing to the Texans 23-7. Tony Romo (above) and the Cowboys' first-team offense continued to struggle as it was shut down by the Texans defense. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

It's been a lackluster preseason thus far for the Dallas Cowboys, especially on offense. Normally I'm not a big fan of people freaking out over the preseason because, hey, it's just a glorified practice where everything is vanilla and game plans are basically nonexistent.

Lee Continues To Struggle, Time For A Day Off?

The Rangers' ace has failed to impress over his last few starts and his overall earned run average and record have been sub-par at best since joining the club. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After a near-perfect first half of the season with the Seattle Mariners, Cliff Lee's performance has begun to slide with the Texas Rangers.

Don't get me wrong, Lee is an ace in every sense of the word. He eats up innings consistently, pounds the strike zone game-in, game-out and isn't fazed by just about anything on the mound.

However, over his last three starts, Lee has had one of the worst stretches of not only this season, but of his entire career. While an extra day of rest seems to be in order, Lee says he feels there are no underlying problems, just a few correctable mistakes.

"I haven't been locating pitches as well as I expect myself to and they haven't missed them," Lee said after his last start in Minnesota, a 6-4 loss in which he allowed five runs in five innings. "It's just been a handful of pitches and they happened to capitalize on them. I've got to do a better job of staying out of the heart of the plate. That's really it."

No Sweep For Texas - Twins Hang On 6-4

Cliff Lee faltered for the third-straight start, as Delmon Young (21) and the Twins got out to an early lead then held on to prevent the four game sweep. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Although the Texas Rangers (72-55) have done a good job this season coming back to win games after trailing early, a 6-0 deficit in the top of the six is a bit much to ask. The Minnesota Twins (73-55) roughed up Cliff Lee (L, 10-8) for five of the six runs as the Rangers' ace got the loss for the third straight start. Lee made it only five innings, giving up five runs on seven hits before being replaced.

Things started out fine for Lee as he needed only eight pitches to get through a 1-2-3 first inning. It quickly went downhill to start the second, however, as Lee allowed back-to-back singles to Twins' outfielder Jason Kubel and first-baseman Michael Cuddyer. After striking out designated hitter Jim Thome looking, outfielder Delmon Young blasted the second pitch he saw deep over the left-center field wall and into the Twins bullpen as Minnesota took a 3-0 lead.

"It was right down the middle," Lee said of the 0-1 pitch to Young. "Looking back, that was the main reason things didn't go well tonight."

Rangers Win Fourth Straight, Edge Twins 4-3

Texas is now a half-game up in the race for home field advantage during the first round of the playoffs. Vladimir Guerrero (above) and Josh Hamilton each had a home run apiece, knocking in all four of the Rangers runs for the game. (AP Photo/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Brandon Wade)

Another game, another hard-fought win for the Texas Rangers (72-54). The Minnesota Twins (72-55) have shown to be no pushover, but Texas keeps finding ways to win against a solid contender in the American League.

Rangers' starter C.J. Wilson (W, 13-5) gave the Rangers six solid innings on the mound, and the entire makeshift bullpen (five relievers) combined to throw three shutout innings, allowing Texas to hang on for the win.

"It's nice to see how they handled it," manager Ron Washington said. "They had to handle it, that's what we had."

Comeback Kings - Rangers Win 4-3

The Rangers rallied from down 2-0 thanks to a solo homer by Josh Hamilton (above) and a go-ahead single from Michael Young. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Just as they've done time and time again this season, the Texas Rangers (71-54) have come from behind yet again to win a ballgame. This time, it was against the Minnesota Twins (72-54), a team the Rangers are now only a half game back from for home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Rangers' starter Colby Lewis got the hard-luck no-decision once again, although, yet again, he pitched a solid game. Lewis went 6 1-3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out two batters. Unfortunately for the Cobra, Michael Young singled in the game winning run in the same inning Lewis was lifted. In fact, Texas has scored only seven runs in Lewis' last seven starts combined, but this is the first start in his last seven that he Rangers have won.

"I don't really care if we win every time I go out and pitch and get a quality start," Lewis said. "The main goal is to get this thing wrapped up and focus on the postseason."

Book It - Rangers Will MakeThe Playoffs

While not completely indicative of how the team has played so far this season, Taylor Teagarden, Neftali Feliz (both pictured left) and the rest of the Rangers will be playing after Oct. 4. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Here's an interesting fact: The Texas Rangers have the exact same record through 124 games (70-54) as they did at the same point last season.

The difference, however, is that this year Texas holds and 8.5 game lead over the Oakland A's and a nine-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels. Whereas last season, the Rangers were down 5.5 games to the Angels at this point of the season.

This is why I believe, even if Texas wins less than 90 games this season (as they did last year), the Rangers will make the playoffs. They may not go very far when they get there, but both the A's and Angels (barring a spectacular finish to the season) seem destined to finish the season at or near .500.

What especially benefits the Rangers is how they finish the regular season.

Rangers Lose Combined No-Hitter In Ninth, Win 4-0

Rich Harden (above) pitched 6 2-3 innings of no-hit baseball, but Joe Mauer's single up the middle in the ninth inning off Neftali Feliz turned the Rangers no-hitter into a one-hit shutout. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

First things first: this was a huge win for the Texas Rangers (70-54). After a week on the road where almost nothing went right it's good to see the Rangers put together a complete game. Of course, the fact that only the second combined no-no in the last eight years was foiled with an out in the ninth is a bummer, but I'm sure a nine game lead over the L.A. Angels matters more to this team.

"That's baseball," Rangers' starter Rich Harden said. "We had [Neftali] Feliz, who's one of the best closers in the game facing [Twins' catcher Joe] Mauer, who's one of the best hitters in the game. That's the way it goes."

Rangers Split Four-Game Series With O's

Texas won two of the final three games of the series to salvage a split against the lowly Orioles. Josh Hamilton (above) hit two home runs and drove in seven RBI over the final three games of the series. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

It was certainly an up-and-down series for the Texas Rangers (69-54). The Baltimore Orioles (44-81), as they've done all season against Texas, gave the Rangers all they could handle in an evenly matched four-game set.

While splitting four games with the worse team, record-wise, in the American League certainly doesn't constitute taking care of business, it is a step-up considering the way the Rangers started the road trip.

"We could have come off the road trip a lot worse than we did," Hamilton said. "We hung in there."

Four...and Counting? Rangers Lose 4-0

A big inning from the Orioles and a complete lack of offense led to a fourth straight loss for the Rangers. Brian Roberts (above) knocked in two runs and scored another for Baltimore in the pivotal seventh inning. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

The Texas Rangers (67-53) are having a hell of a time doing much right on this east-coast road trip. Losing three straight to the Tampa Bay Rays is one thing, but starting out a four game series with the Baltimore Orioles (43-79) with a shutout loss is a whole different kind of ugly for this team.

Rangers Swept By Surging Rays - 8-6

The Rangers were dominated once again as Evan Longoria (above) continued to swing a hot bat against the beleaguered Texas pitching staff. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

If this three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (74-46) is any indication, the Texas Rangers (67-52) have some serious work to do before the playoffs. The Rays scored 24 runs in the sweep, outscoring Texas 24-11 for the series, as both the Rangers' starters and relievers struggled to get outs. Rangers' manager Ron Washington seemed exacerbated after the game, but still positive when talking to the media.

"You just move on," said Washington."We'll be better equipped the next time we see them. Stay tuned."

Rays Pummell Rangers - 10-1

It's the widest margin of defeat of the season for the Rangers as nothing seemed to go right Tuesday night against Tampa Bay. Rays' outfielders Ben Zobrist and Carl Crawford (both pictured above) combined to go 4 for 8 from the plate with five RBI for the game. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

From the get-go, it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Texas Rangers (67-51).

Rangers' starter Tommy Hunter (L, 9-2) allowed four of the first five Rays' batters to get on base, three had extra-base hits, as the Tampa Bay Rays (73-46) scored three runs in the first inning. Hunter lasted only three innings for the second straight start, the third time in his last four starts he's failed to record an out in the fourth inning before being pulled.

"It's one of those nights," manager Ron Washington said.

Give It Away Now - Rangers Lose 6-4

Sloppy play in the infield leads to a four-run eighth for the Devil Rays as the Rangers blow another late-game lead. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Texas Rangers (67-50) are having a difficult time putting teams away late in ballgames, which is a disturbing trend for a team with playoff aspirations.

Whether it's a shaky bullpen blowing it late or, most recently, a couple of infield blunders extending a two-out rally in the eight; the Rangers are lacking that killer-instinct the great teams have. The trend continued Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays (72-46), a likely first-round Rangers opponent if they make the postseason, as aforementioned gaffes by a couple of backup Rangers infielders allowed the Rays to come back from down 4-2 to win the game.

Rangers Split Two With Red Sox - Win Series

C.J. Wilson (above) provided 7 1-3 strong innings of pitching, while Michael Young supplied the offensive punch with a three-run homer as Texas was able to take the final game of the series. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

In the last two games of the series between the Texas Rangers (67-49) and the Boston Red Sox (67-52), Rangers' starting pitchers pitched well enough to earn victories. Both Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson pitched masterfully the last two days but, unfortunately for Lewis, Rangers' hitting didn't keep up it's end of the bargain until Sunday afternoon.

Texas-Sized Comeback - Rangers Win 10-9 In Extras

The Rangers did to the Red Sox what the Yankees had done to them a game before, coming back from a large deficit to win the game. Nelson Cruz (above) provided the game-winner, a 418 foot shot in the 11th for his second walk-off homer this season. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

One day after the Nolan-Ryan Chuch Greenberg group was officially approved by Major League Baseball as the new owners of the club, the Texas Rangers (66-48) played one of it's most exciting games of the season Friday night.

Although Nelson Cruz provided the clutch hit in extra's that won it for the Rangers, Josh Hamilton put the team on his back and refused to allow the Rangers to lose to the Boston Red Sox (66-51).

Texas-Sized Meltdown - Yankees Win 7-6

Overanxious Rangers blow five run lead, ninth inning opportunity, split series with Yankees. Marcus Thames (above, right) knocked in the game winning run in the top of the ninth. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

With a 6-1 lead after the fifth inning and Cliff Lee cruising on the mound, a win and two-game sweep over the New York Yankees (70-43) seemed imminent for the up-and-coming Texas Rangers (65-48). That simply wasn't the case, however, as both the Rangers pitching staff and hitters crumbled under the Texas heat.

Playoff Preview? Rangers Win In Walk-Off Fashion 4-3

David Murphy (above, being hoisted up by teammates) came through big in the 10th inning with a single to right field that gave the Rangers the win over New York. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

In front of over 46,000 fans, the Texas Rangers (65-47) made a case Tuesday night that they won't be bullied, not even by the big-bad New York Yankees (69-43). David Murphy led the way, belting a two-run homer in the sixth inning that put the Rangers up 3-2 and then finished the game with a looping single into right field that gave his team the walk-off win.

A's Take Series With Comeback 3-2 Win

Texas blew a two run lead and the A's took two of three from the Rangers in Oakland. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

For the first time since the All-Star break, the Texas Rangers (64-47) have lost a series. Colby Lewis pitched six innings of one run baseball, but Darren Oliver struggled through 1-3 of an inning for his first loss of the season.

Texas Splits First Two In Oakland

Cliff Lee pitched yet another gem Friday night, but Saturday afternoon saw Rich Harden (pictured above, right) revert to old form in a 6-2 loss. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The first two games of the weekend series between the Texas Rangers (64-46) and the Oakland Athletics (55-54) seemed to be a tale of two pitchers for the Rangers. While Cliff Lee dominated, going eight innings and allowing only one run, Rich Harden displayed the same traits that got him put on the D.L. nearly two months ago.

Texas Two-Step

Rangers take final two games of the series against the Mariners after an embarrassing game one loss. Micheal Young (above) hit a grand slam Wednesday, leading the Rangers to a 11-6 win. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

After a dreadful week at the plate, the Texas Rangers (63-45) broke out in a big way the last two games against the Seattle Mariners (40-69). David Murphy led the charge, hitting two home runs and knocking in five RBI on Wednesday and Thursday.

Offensive Slumber Continues - Seattle Wins 3-2

Mariners' outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo (both pictured above)celebrate after winning their first game in over a week. Ichiro went 2 for 4 for the game, scoring a run. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Even with Josh Hamilton back in the lineup after a two game absence, the Rangers' offense continues to have trouble scoring runs.

Angels Close Out Series

Texas splits the final two games of the three-game set against the Angels as Jered Weaver (above) out-dueled Cliff Lee in the rubber-match 4-1. (AP Photo/Christine Cotter)

With Josh Hamilton out of the lineup for two straight games due to tendinitis in his right knee, the Texas Rangers (61-44) struggled mightily on offense. The Los Angeles Angels (54-53) allowed only two earned runs in the final two games of the series as the Rangers struggled to get anything going at the plate. The Rangers were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position during this time with it's only earned runs coming of the bat of Vladimir Guerrero, a two run homer that gave Texas a 2-1 win Saturday.