Arlington, TX (My Sportsbook) - The Anaheim Angels will try for the fourth straight contest to secure a playoff berth this evening when they battle the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Anaheim dropped a 2-1 decision to Rangers on Tuesday as its lead in the wild card over Seattle and Boston dropped to five. The Angels still need just one win to lock up their first postseason slot since 1986.

Kevin Appier (14-12) absorbed the loss after yielding two runs in six innings. The veteran righthander surrendered seven hits and one walk, while striking out six batters for the Angels, who have lost three consecutive contests.

Garret Anderson and Scott Spiezio registered two hits apiece in the losing effort for the Angels.

Ivan Rodriguez blasted a solo homer and scored both of his team's runs in the win. Kevin Mench and Michael Young each collected two of the Rangers' eight hits.

Joaquin Benoit (4-4) earned his first victory in nearly a month after holding Anaheim to one run on five hits over seven innings. The rookie righthander struck out four batters and walked just one for the Rangers, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 11 games. Francisco Cordero tossed a scoreless ninth inning to record his ninth save of the season.

Anaheim will look to red hot Ramon Ortiz to the take the hill this evening. Ortiz has won five consecutive starts and six straight decisions overall with his last loss coming on August 9. The Dominican righthander was outstanding in his last outing, allowing just five hits and one run over seven innings en route to a victory over Seattle.

Ortiz has owned the Rangers this year, going 3-0 with a 3.95 ERA against them. For his career, Ortiz is 9-1 with a 4.00 ERA versus Texas.

Ortiz has been very solid on the road this year, posting an 8-5 record with a 3.95 ERA in 16 contests.

Texas will counter by handing the ball to veteran lefthander Kenny Rogers this evening. Rogers has lost two of his last three decisions and hasn't won back- to-back starts since July. Last time on the hill, the southpaw limited Oakland to just six hits and two runs over seven innings en route to a no-decision.

Rogers has been decent against the Angels this season, tallying a 1-1 record with an 8.10 ERA. For his career, Rogers has mustered a 14-10 mark versus Anaheim.

Rogers has been pretty good at home this year, going 4-4 with a 3.73 ERA in 15 contests.

Anaheim has dominated this series in 2002, winning 11-of-17 contests. These teams have split 36 meetings since the beginning of last season.

Anaheim is 44-35 on the road and 27-26 versus the West, while the Rangers are 41-35 at home and just 19-34 within the division.