ARLINGTON, Texas (AP Sept 29, 2013) — The Texas Rangers had to keep winning to keep playing. After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs.

Craig Gentry had a key two-run single, Geovany Soto had a tiebreaking RBI double and a solo homer, and the Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Sunday to force a one-game tiebreaker for the second AL wild-card spot.

”They showed heart, fight, gut – any other adjective you want to find,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

The Rangers (91-71), who began September with the AL West lead before a 5-15 slide, added game No. 163 to the regular season. They will host Tampa Bay on Monday night in baseball’s first wild-card tiebreaker since 2007. The winner plays two days later at wild-card leader Cleveland for a berth against Boston in the division series.

About the same time Tampa Bay wrapped up its 7-6 win at Toronto to necessitate a victory by the Rangers, Gentry hit a two-run single in the fifth for a 2-1 lead.

Texas has been in the playoffs the past three seasons, last year losing at home to Baltimore with Darvish on the mound in the AL’s first one-and-done wild-card game.