ANAHEIM - Like a gassed six-round prelim fighter stepping into the 10-round main event class for the first time, the Rangers find themselves running on empty.

Even old reliable Scott Feldman seems to have nothing left but fumes.

Feldman, the one young starter manager Ron Washington has been most able to depend on this season, had his second straight disappointing start Tuesday night and the Los Angeles Angels racked the Rangers 5-2 at Angels Stadium, snuffing out Texas' faint hope for post-season baseball.

The Red Sox lost again to Toronto, 8-7, earlier in the day, but the Rangers' lackluster loss clinched the wild-card berth for Boston anyway.

And while the Rangers were going belly up against the Angels for the second straight night, Seattle was beating Oakland, 6-4, to move within four games of Texas for second place in the American League West.

Finishing at least second is important to Washington. What he doesn't want to see is this tailspin continue with the final three games scheduled in Seattle.

"It's very important," Washington said. "That's why we need to get us a win (today)."

His message to his players, even after Monday night's loss clinched the Angels' fifth division title in six years: Play hard, finish strong, win as many games as possible in this final week.

But is anyone still listening?

With the division championship already clinched, the Angels rested Scott Kazmir and started Sean O'Sullivan instead. Manager Mike Scioscia sat about half of his regulars, substituted early and often, and the Rangers were still no match for the Angels.

Feldman was roughed up by Oakland for seven runs in just 3 1/3 innings in his last start. For the second straight start, he couldn't get through four.

"I don't know if he's running out of gas, I just don't see him pounding the strike zone like he was earlier this year," Washington said. "He didn't have his sinker because he wasn't getting the groundballs he usually gets."

Bobby Abreu drilled a two-out solo homer in the first, the Angels scratched out another run in the second, then knocked Feldman out of the game with two more in the fourth.

"I was just falling behind guys and my command wasn't very sharp," Feldman said. "My arm feels as good as it ever has.

"I'm really glad I have more start left (Sunday in Seattle) to try to win and finish on a good note."

It might have been a different game if rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus hadn't forgotten to cover second on Abreu's grounder that first baseman Hank Blalock snared.

"That's a mental error right there," Washington said. "A ball hit like that, you got nowhere else to be but at the bag. That cost Feldman two runs."

But Feldman wasn't using that as an alibi.

"It would have been a different game if I'd made some pitches when I needed to," Feldman said.

David Murphy walloped a long solo home run to right in the top of the fourth, and Ian Kinsler doubled and scored on a pair of groundouts in the fifth for the only Rangers' runs.

It was announced Tuesday that Josh Hamilton is done for the year, and that Chris Davis was out of the lineup with a strained hamstring. Marlon Byrd left the game with a right hip strain that's been troubling him for three weeks. It seems the Rangers aren't racing for the finish line so much as limping.

Byrd said he's been trying to play through the injury for a while now, and Tuesday night it just gave out on him. The Rangers plan to have him see Dr. Lewis Yoakum today, but Byrd said if it hasn't improved, he won't be able to play in tonight's game.

It's looking more and more like the Rangers have hit the wall, and the wall is hitting back.