Rangers to host Rays in opener

MIKE NAPOLI broke a tie in the ninth inning with his fourth homer in two games, and the Texas Rangers finally clinched homefield advantage in the AL Division Series with a 3-1 victory over the host Los Angeles Angels last night.

Napoli, the longtime Angels catcher, also homered in the second inning as the Rangers set a franchise record with their 96th victory - including six straight heading into the postseason.

With 14 wins in their final 16 games, the Rangers (96-66) held off Detroit (95-67) for the right to host the wild-card winning Tampa Bay Rays at Rangers Ballpark tomorrow.

The Rays beat the New York Yankees, 8-7, in 12 innings last night, and earned the wild card after Baltimore beat Boston, 4-3.

"It was a great feeling, but mostly because it keeps us home for the first series," Napoli said of his home run. "I was talking to it in my mind, 'Just stay fair!' "

Gil Velasquez drove in the only run for the Angels, who were in playoff contention until Monday. Los Angeles (86-76) lost six of its last seven.

At Detroit, Miguel Cabrera singled and doubled, all but wrapping up the American League batting title, and Jhonny Peralta hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to help the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4.

Cabrera entered the day hitting .343, five points ahead of Michael Young of Texas and Adrian Gonzalez of Boston. He raised his average another point against the Indians, making it almost impossible for the other two to catch him.

The AL Central-champion Tigers will start the playoffs on the road against the New York Yankees tomorrow night. Detroit had a chance at the No. 2 seed, but needed Texas to lose.

* At Chicago, White Sox reliever Chris Sale issued a pair of bases-loaded walks in the ninth inning and Chicago's disappointing season ended with a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Before the game, Ozzie Guillen was announced as the new manager of the Florida Marlins - the White Sox traded him for two minor leaguers on Monday.

Expected to be a contender in the AL Central, the White Sox wound up 79-83 with pitching coach Don Cooper serving as interim manager the last two games.

In other news, White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker resigned after nine seasons. Walker had told owner Jerry Reinsdorf a month ago that he was leaving regardless of the manager next season.

The White Sox have already announced they are bringing back pitching coach Don Cooper and first base coach Harold Baines with multiyear deals. Bench coach Joey Cora will join Guillen in Miami.

* At Minneapolis, Trevor Plouffe's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning gave Carl Pavano (9-13) and the Twins a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, helping Minnesota stave off a 100-loss season.

* At Seattle, Jai Miller hit a two-run homer and Gio Gonzalez (16-12) gave up two hits and struck out 11 over eight innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 2-0 win over the Mariners.

The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will open next season in Japan with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on March 28 and 29.