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.

"I've been taking the single approach up there and looking out over the plate and reacting," Murphy said. "It's working right now and I'll stick with it."

Micheal Young led off the 10th, beating out an infield single after an outstanding backhand stop by Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter. Josh Hamilton followed with a grounder that found a hole into right field and Vladimir Guerrero followed, nearly beating out an infield single of his own, but it worked like a sacrifice moving the runners to second and third.

New York then decided to intentionally walk Nelson Cruz, setting up Murphy for the clutch hit on a 3-2 count against arguably the best closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera (L, 3-2). Murphy, who now has three homers and a total of nine RBI over the last six games, finished the game going 2 for 3, knocking in three of the Rangers' four runs.

"Sweet stroke, that's what we call him," Rangers' starter C.J. Wilson said.

While Murphy was providing the offensive spark, Wilson provided some fireworks of his own on the mound. Wilson pitched a solid game, 5 1-3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts, but in the third inning he supplied one of the plays of the year for the Rangers. On a high chopper off the bat of Jeter, Wilson fielded the ball cleanly and sprinted towards first base, diving glove-first and slamming into the bag just ahead of Jeter. It was easily one of the top-5 Rangers' plays this season and revealed just how important this game was to Texas.

Neftali Feliz (W, 3-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out one, as he put down the 3, 4, 5, and 6 hitters in the Yankees lineup in order from the ninth to the 10th inning.

Texas put together a complete-win using quality pitching, electrifying play on defense, and clutch hits at the plate against the best team in baseball. Both mentally and roster-wise, the Rangers are proving this team is not the same as the one the Yankees swept by a combined 11 runs earlier this season.

The finale of this two-game series will take place Wednesday night and will be nationally televised on ESPN with a 7:05 p.m. start time. Rangers Ace Cliff Lee (10-5, 2.44 ERA) will try to prove his worth on the hill, while Javier Vazquez (9-8, 4.63) will get the start for New York.

News and Notes:

• Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had been dominate at the Ballpark in Arlington coming into Tuesday's game. The loss is Rivera's first in 32 appearances in Texas.
• Darren O'Day, despite allowing a run that was tacked-on to Wilson, set a team-record with his 27th consecutive appearance without allowing an earned run. O"Day sets the record despite giving up a hit and not recording an out in the inning.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)