Kendall Graveman loses perfect game for A's in 7th inning; Rangers win 3-0

OAKLAND - Adrian Beltre and the Texas Rangers were subdued as they began the celebration, exchanging hugs near the pitcher's mound at Oakland Coliseum.

Things got more raucous in the clubhouse, with cigar smoke and champagne everywhere.

The Rangers are getting pretty good at this division title thing. Now it's time to chase some more important hardware.

Beltre hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Texas Rangers secured their second straight AL West title, becoming the first American League team to clinch a playoff spot with a 3-0 victory against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

“It's just the first step, it's just the first step,” Beltre said.

“It's not easy to get where we are right now. We took the first step to win the division and get into the playoffs. We have a good enough team to win the World Series. That's our goal. We're going to celebrate today, but we know this is not just what we accomplished. We want to accomplish a lot more things.”

This is Texas' seventh AL West title - not including the strike-shortened 1994 season - and fourth since 2010. The Rangers have won division titles in both seasons since manager Jeff Banister took over after losing an AL-high 95 games in 2014.

That camaraderie is a big part of how they got there.

“I feel like we've always had a lot of emotion,” Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis said. “We play with a lot of passion, and that's what it's all about; that's what makes us good.”

Beltre's homer came during a three-run seventh after Oakland starter Kendall Graveman (10-11) began with six perfect innings. Texas got its first baserunner when Carlos Gomez beat out an infield hit to lead off the seventh against Graveman.

“He was throwing the ball really well,” Beltre said. “His fastball was moving really well. He got us off-balanced for about six innings. We got lucky. We got a couple of balls that found some holes. We scored just when we needed to win the ball game.”

All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels (15-5), acquired prior to last year's non-waiver trade deadline, pitched the division-clinching game for the second year in a row. Last year, he threw a three-hitter in the last game of the regular season to beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Hamels struck out seven and allowed no walks in seven innings of six-hit ball in what for him was an important bounce-back after allowing 21 earned run in 18 innings over his previous four starts.

Graveman allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings. He threw 77 pitches and went to just one three-ball count, to Nomar Mazara leading off the third.

The A's brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth but closer Sam Dyson got pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso to hit into a fielder's choice for the last out to record his 36th save.

BEST IN THE WEST

This is the third time the Rangers have won back-to-back titles, having also done so in 1998 and 1999 and then in 2010 and 2011. Current A's third-base coach Ron Washington was their manager for the most recent back-to-back, when they made their first two World Series appearances.

After being the AL West's first-place team since May 29, the Rangers finally clinched in their 154th game. That matched their earliest clinch ever - they also won the division in the 154th game in 2011, also at Oakland.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rangers: OF Shin-Soo Choo took batting practice for the first time since going on the disabled list Aug. 16 with a left forearm fracture. Choo hopes to play in next weekend's regular season-ending series against Tampa Bay, which could be his last chance to show the Rangers he's ready to be on their playoff roster.

Athletics: Utilityman Arismendy Alcantara will miss the rest of the season with a thumb sprain. Alcantara suffered the injury sliding into second base in the ninth inning of Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros.