OAKLAND -- Rangers manager Chris Woodward asked for this. He said earlier this month that he was looking forward to it.

The Rangers have had a rough time against contending teams in September, but Woodward said his team will be better because of it.

“I don’t think anybody likes getting their butts kicked,” Woodward said Sunday morning. “I don’t want to lose seven in a row. You think it’s an ego thing that I want to end up with a better record than not? I’d rather have the best competition in the world. If we were playing the lesser teams, yeah we may win games, and it may look better at the end of the year. But am I really evaluating my players based on who I can trust?

The Rangers went into Sunday having lost seven in a row against the Athletics and the Astros. The Rangers were 74-74 on Sept. 12 after taking two of three against the Rays at home, but the losing streak eliminated any fleeting hopes of finishing with a winning record.

Woodward said the information gleaned from watching his players perform against this level of competition is more valuable than finishing with a winning record.

“When guys get revealed, when they fail or they succeed, who are they really?” Woodward said. “I want to know who these guys are. You look at Spring Training, you can get fooled. All of a sudden you get in the regular season and this guy isn’t who we thought he was. You are facing a lesser team and, all of a sudden, this guy looks like an All-Star, he looks like a great pitcher, or he has three homers in four games.

“Then you go up against a team like this, that’s playoff-ready and preparing to win a World Series, and you get your butts kicked. But we can actually tell a guy, 'That’s what it’s like when you are facing a team like that, they are not going to give in an inch, you can’t give in, as well.' It’s a great message.”

The Rangers finish the season with three each against the Red Sox and Yankees at home. The Red Sox have been eliminated from postseason and may ease up in the final week. But the Yankees are in a race with the Astros and Dodgers for the best record in MLB and home-field advantage for the postseason.

The Yankees, like the Athletics, have something to play for down the stretch, and that’s going to be another test for the Rangers.

“We may get our butts kicked, but it’s worth it in the end, as far as our development and our messaging,” Woodward said. “I don’t want to lose 14 at the end of the year, but I can learn so much more about our players having this, rather than the other way around, even though I don’t like losing.

“I hate losing. I don’t want to get comfortable with that, and I don’t want our guys getting comfortable with that. But this is still a good thing for us.”

Pence hasn’t given up

The Rangers have one week to go in the season and outfielder Hunter Pence is still not giving up hope of playing again. He is sidelined with a strained lower back that includes a light tear in a disk.

He is doing rotational work and has yet to resume taking batting practice since going on the injured list on Aug. 24. But he is still trying to get back into the lineup even though that appears to be an unlikely proposition.

“I am working as hard as I can to swing,” Pence said. “I’m not ready. As soon as I’m ready, I will give it everything I’ve got.”

Pence said he doesn’t believe he will need surgery to repair the disk.

“I was told it will take a couple of months to heal, but you can get back before it heals,” Pence said. “I’m trying my best to give it all I’ve got.”

Rangers beat

• Catcher Jeff Mathis remains sidelined with tightness in the lower back. Tim Federowicz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are serving as the backups to Jose Trevino.

• Infielder Logan Forsythe has not played since Sept. 22 because of tightness in his left intercostal muscle. That deprives the Rangers of their most experienced infielder, especially at third base.

• Ariel Jurado is scheduled to start for the Rangers on Tuesday against the Red Sox, but the Rangers may use an opener in front of him.