A's Play Spoiler with Win Over Angels as Rangers Clinch AL West

The Angels needed a minor miracle to make the playoffs. Now they're going to need something a bit stronger than that. The Rangers clinched the AL West with a win over Seattle tonight, so unless Boston and Tampa Bay completely collapse over the home stretch, the 2011 Angels are done.

It was quite a nice win, too, as Gio Gonzalez picked up his fifteenth victory of the year in a 7.1 inning outing against one of the premier pitchers in baseball, Jered Weaver. Gonzalez only allowed 3 hits, including a home run by Torii Hunter which was the sole run that crossed the plate under his watch. He struck out 5 and walked 2. The A's needed every last drop of that performance, as Jered Weaver was on his A-game tonight. He lasted 8.1 innings in a fantastic start, striking out 8 and walking none. The problem? He allowed two solo home runs, one to Jemile Weeks on the third pitch of the game, and one to David DeJesus in the top of the 9th.

As an aside, why did Mike Scioscia allow Jered Weaver to start the 9th anyway? He was already at 107 pitches after finishing the 8th, and the Angels were down by one. What's the point of taxing LA's new $85MM man in an attempt at a complete game loss? The Angels are counting on Weaver to be their ace through 2016, and he just hit a new high in innings pitched earlier this week.

And speaking of Jemile Weeks, man oh man, has it been a good week for him. Weeks lasted until his 90th game as a major leaguer before hitting his first home run, and now he has two in two games. Both weren't cheap shots, either. Hit Tracker Online has yesterday's at 389 feet and today's at 399. I guess the little guy has some power after all.

Either way, the A's just hit win number 71 with 5 more games to go. Number 72 comes tomorrow at 6:05.