Rangers Can't Afford To Dwell On Collapse

At least from the perspective of a fan, the Texas Rangers’ Wednesday afternoon loss to the A’s in Oakland, which gave the A’s the American League West crown, was a crushing blow. A kick to the gut. A loss that a lot of us will be thinking about for a good while today.

But the Rangers themselves don’t have the luxury of dwelling on the loss, or their collapse. They have to play the wild card Orioles in a win-or-go home game on Friday.

“We don’t have a choice,” veteran infielder Michael Young said, per ESPN Dallas. “It’s a big game. You can’t sit there and lick your wounds and worry about it. You have to get ready to play. If you win, you have an opportunity to compete at that point.”

While they’re certainly intent on not looking back as they prepare for Baltimore, the Rangers also know that looking forward, past a scrappy Orioles team, could be equally, if not more harmful to their chances.

“It’s going to be a tough road,” said catcher Mike Napoli. “We’ll have to win a playoff game and go from there. We’re worried about this playoff game and that’s it.”