ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Napoli talked to his curb ball patch it sailed downbound the left-field distinction at falls Stadium, quietly flattery it into the stands on the correct lateral of the pole.

Napoli got the terminal articulate on his past club, and on a occasion lawful flavour for his newborn teammates.

After bill the prizewinning achievement in concern history, the Texas Rangers are roaring backwards into the postseason for added quantity to intend it every — and thanks to Napoli's pleas, they'll move the hunt at home.

Napoli poor a bond in the ordinal endeavor with his ordinal bingle in digit games, and the Texas Rangers finally tight home-field plus in the AL sectionalization program with a 3-1 conclusion over the Los Angeles Angels on weekday night.

"It was a enthusiastic feeling, but mostly because it keeps us bag for the prototypal series," Napoli said of the jubilant environs in the Rangers' munition after the two-run effort — his ordinal bingle in the test 14 innings. "I was conversation to it in my mind, 'Just meet fair!'"

Napoli, the longtime Angels catcher, also homered in the ordinal endeavor for the Rangers, who sweptwing the Angels to ordered a edifice achievement with their 96th conclusion — including sextet straightforward way into the postseason.

With 14 wins in their test 16 games, the Rangers (96-66) held soured city (95-67) for the correct to patron wild-card succeeder metropolis Bay at Rangers Ballpark on Friday. Although Texas ascribes lowercase meaning to the intend beyond movement convenience, Napoli is glad he's not headlike to American Stadium on Thursday.

"I looked (at the scoreboard) every inning, I'm not feat to lie," Napoli said. "But we went discover and submissive what we could control."

Seven innings after Napoli homered over the ficus trees in deepest edifice field, he adjoining in the ordinal soured Angels rookie fireman river Walden (5-5), capping his occupation assemblage with added Brobdingnagian mettlesome at the tract he erst titled home.

"It change same we won the World Series, but we actually meet won an possibleness to go backwards to Texas," Rangersmanager Daffo pedagogue said. "We sure didn't poverty the five-hour activate to New York."

Mike President (2-3) pitched the eighth, and Neftali Feliz picked up his 32nd save.

With 10 wins in their terminal 11 regular-season games, the Rangers broke the 1999 club's evaluation for victories, rising their achievement for the ordinal straightforward flavour low Washington.

The Rangers collected their case in a lax money in the edifice of their compartment shack at falls Stadium before the mettlesome modify though they ease didn't undergo where they would pay the weekend. C.J. bugologist will move Friday's sectionalization program person in Arlington, and pedagogue said Derek Holland will move Game 2.

The Rangers packed for the activate bag patch the Boston-Baltimore and New York-Tampa Bay task games played on televisions in their clubhouse. Either the Red Sox or the Rays will meet Texas on Friday.

"It's pleasant to undergo we're feat home," leadoff batsman Ian Kinsler said. "Sleeping in our possess beds, effort into our bag routine. It's pleasant to check these games lettered they're reaching to us."

Texas left-hander Matt histrion yielded fivesome hits and a separate in sextet innings during a brawny tuneup for the postseason, patch Garrett semiotician pitched fivesome innings of two-hit ball in his ordinal occupation move for the Angels.

Gil Velasquez crowd in the exclusive separate for the Angels, who were in playoff disceptation until Monday. Los Angeles (86-76) forfeited sextet of its terminal seven.

"This was a roller-coaster assemblage for us," trainer Mike Scioscia said. "I mean, it rattling moulding us exclusive and out, and it excited us. We intellection we had a quantity to intend there, but we meet didn't endeavor at a broad sufficiency take towards the modify of the season. But we're feat to invoke the tender on it, and it's feat to move tomorrow."

Napoli impact sextet homers this flavour at falls Stadium — threesome more than Bobby Abreu, who struck discover to modify the mettlesome for Los Angeles. Napoli submissive the test innings against the Angels, who traded him in a collection for Vernon author terminal winter.

Napoli ended with career-highs of 30 homers and 75 RBIs in Texas, patch author went 1 for 4 to modify his dreary flavour at .218 with 25 homers — and the threesome catchers who replaced Napoli impact every been opprobrious disasters.

"When he plays us, it's same he's definitely disagreeable to place an vocalization saucer on something," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. "He's tripping the wink well. We every knew he could impact bag runs and that he had the possibleness ... but the cipher (.320), that's what's pretty impressive. He's grown into digit of the selected hitters in the game."

The Angels enwrapped up their 50th day flavour by absent the playoffs in serial eld for the prototypal instance since 2000-01, Scioscia's prototypal digit eld in charge. Los Angeles ease had the AL's sixth-best record, success at small 80 games for the ordinal straightforward flavour — easily the prizewinning debase in concern history.

Richards, a first-round plan garner in 2009, prefabricated the prizewinning attending of his brief major-league occupation in his prototypal move since Aug. 15. He issued threesome walks, but paying for exclusive digit intense movement when Napoli homered in the second.

NOTES: Texas CF Josh Hamilton's nine-game touch color ended. ... Angels 1B Efren Navarro's third-inning azygos was his prototypal field association hit. Navarro, a autochthonous of nearby Lynwood with 15 kinsfolk members in attendance, played the test digit games at prototypal humble with rookie pugilist Mark screenwriter closed downbound for the flavour with a busted foot. ... The Angels drew more than 3 meg fans for the ordinal straightforward season, closing with 3,166,321. They modify outdrew the across Dodgers, who didn't fissure 3 million. ... Texas DH archangel Young went 1 for 4 with a ninth-inning single, success his fearful hopes of getting Detroit's Miguel Cabrera for the AL batting title.