Final day of season again huge for Rangers

ARLINGTON -- For a third straight year, Major League Baseball is in for a wild finish on the final day of the regular season, and the Rangers find themselves caught in the middle of the excitement for a second consecutive season.

The Rangers entered Sunday's game tied with the Rays for the second American League Wild Card spot and a game behind the Indians for the top Wild Card seed. It brings up the possibility of a three-way tie for both Wild Card spots.

"I couldn't imagine if the second Wild Card team wasn't introduced last year with the situation that's going on today of a possible three-way tie for one Wild Card," Ian Kinsler said. "I don't know how that all would've shook up, but luckily there's two Wild Cards this year and our opportunities are greater."

The goal was simple for the Rangers entering Sunday's game: win and they'll play another game. Whether that'd be a tiebreaker game or a Wild Card game will be determined by the outcomes of the Indians and Rays, who started their games against the Twins and Blue Jays before Texas.

"It's been amazing," Elvis Andrus said. "That's what the fans want, fighting until the last day. We still won't know what's going on today, and we'll see what happens after today. It means a lot though, the excitement that we as players bring to this sport, and the fans love it."

The Rangers lost to the A's on the final game last season to decide the AL West title and the top Wild Card spot. In 2011, the Rays and Cardinals made the playoffs on the final day and the Braves and Red Sox were eliminated in arguably one of the greatest days in MLB history.

"It's crazy how the last three years in MLB it's pretty much came down to the last day deciding whether it'd be the playoffs period or just home-field advantage," Kinsler said. "There's always something on the line it seems for the last three years. It's been a lot of fun, and I think MLB is taking advantage of it. The league is in a great position right now."