Devil Rays Keep Texas in Second

Word that the Angels lost another game didn’t brighten the mood in the Texas clubhouse.

The second-place Rangers have been chasing the American League West-leading Angels for the past month and wasted an opportunity to move into first by dropping two of three weekend games to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“To tell you the truth, it’s disheartening when you’re playing one of the worst teams in baseball statistically, as far as their record, and lose two out of three,” shortstop Royce Clayton said after a 10-5 loss Sunday kept the Rangers one game behind Anaheim with 14 to play.

Juan Gonzalez of the Rangers became the first AL player in 49 years to reach 150 RBIs in a season, hitting his 42nd homer, a two-run shot in the third inning. That raised his total to 151 RBIs, the most since Tommy Davis drove in 153 runs for the Dodgers in 1962. The last time an AL player had more than 151 RBIs was in 1949 when Ted Williams and Vern Stephens each drove in 159.

Tampa Bay also withstood home runs by Clayton and Rusty Greer to win a home series for the first time in nearly two months.

“It looks like the pennant race is following us, and that’s fine,” said Devil Ray Manager Larry Rothschild, whose team is finishing the season with 18 consecutive games against teams in playoff contention. “I think it will be good for some of the younger players to go through it. It would be nice to go through it successfully.”

The Rangers begin a two-game series at Baltimore, while the Angels move on to Tampa Bay for two games beginning tonight.

Boggs hit his seventh homer of the season during a six-run second-inning against Esteban Loaiza (3-4).

“This game doesn’t upset me,” Texas Manager Johnny Oates said. “What am I supposed to do--cuss and storm in here and throw stuff against the wall? I don’t get frustrated. Frustration is a bad trait in this business. I ride the roller coaster.”

Rick White (2-5) pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings in relief of Bryan Rekar to get the victory. Rekar departed with a 6-4 lead, but only worked 4 1/3 innings.