Orioles' magical season continues

• The Orioles advance to the ALDS to face the Yankees
• Orioles' Joe Saunders induced three double plays
• The Rangers offense struggled once again down the stretch

ARLINGTON, Texas — The irony of the Baltimore Orioles' 5-1 American League wild card win over the Rangers?

They get the New York Yankees. Again.

"I'm all for irony," manager Buck Showalter said, just before he got sprayed with champagne in the visitor's clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

For Showalter, the irony is two-fold: He managed both the Rangers and the Yankees.

For his team, it's about facing the club they fought neck-and-neck with for the AL East title this season.

"The Yankees are going to be prepared; they're the Yankees," Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones said. "(Derek) Jeter's going to have his men ready to go, ready to get in our tails. And hey, I'm going to have my men ready to get in their tails."

The Yankees won the division, but the season series was tied 9-9. The Orioles were 3-6 at home, where Game 1 of the American League Division Series starts Sunday, and 6-3 at New York.

The AL East race was tight to the end. From Sept. 3 on, the Orioles and Yankees were never separated by more than 1½ games.

Now, they meet in the postseason for the first time since 1996 in a series altered by the Jeffrey Maier fly ball incident.

"As a player coming into the AL East, you know it's going to have to go through New York," said Joe Saunders, who earned the win Friday. "They've obviously got a great squad and it's going to be a fight. We're excited to be a part of it."

Saunders was 0-6 in six previous starts at Rangers Ballpark In Arlington but took advantage of a struggling Rangers offense to get the win. Saunders allowed six hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings to become the first Baltimore pitcher to win a postseason game since 1997, the last time the Orioles made the playoffs.

Saunders induced three double plays, one each to the Rangers' top three hitters in the lineup.

The first double play came with two on and no outs in the first. Saunders got Josh Hamilton to swing at the first pitch and the resulting double play scored the Rangers' only run. However, it also got Saunders out of the inning when the next batter, Adrian Beltre, flied out.

"That first inning was huge," Saunders said. "I was in trouble in the first and got Hamilton to roll one over, thank goodness. I just told myself, hey, try to minimize damage, keep us in the game and throw up some zeroes."

Showalter got right-hander Steve Johnson up in the bullpen in the first inning, just in case Saunders couldn't get out of trouble.

"The key to our game tonight was Joe Saunders," Showalter said. "I thought if Joe could get the first inning under his belt without giving up much that we could keep it close."

It was possibly the last game in a Rangers uniform for Hamilton, the 2010 American League MVP, who becomes a free agent after the season. In his final at-bat Friday, Hamilton struck out swinging on three pitches, with a runner at second base, to end the eighth inning.

The Rangers' struggles on offense wasted a strong outing by starter Yu Darvish, who struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings.

Darvish limited the Orioles to one run until the sixth when he gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning. Adam Jones then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in J.J. Hardy for a 2-1 Baltimore lead.

Darvish was pulled just before Nate McLouth dropped a two-out single into left field to bring home another run.

McLouth opened the game by hitting the first pitch to first baseman Michael Young, who couldn't come up with the play and was charged with an error. McLouth stole second and scored on a single by Hardy for a 1-0 Baltimore lead.

Texas answered in the bottom of the first when Ian Kinsler led off with a walk. Kinsler advanced to third on a single by Elvis Andrus and scored on Hamilton's double-play grounder.

The Rangers, who represented the AL in the past two World Series, continued the late-season offensive struggles that ultimately cost them first place in the AL West title on the final day of the season.

Texas had a baserunner in each of the first five innings but managed just the lone run.

"We just didn't get it done," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "It came down to being able to execute against good pitching … We tried and we just couldn't get it done."

The Rangers had runners at first and third with one out in the fourth inning but failed to bring in a run. Mike Napoli struck out swinging and Geovany Soto grounded into a fielder's choice to end the threat.

The victory was particularly sweet for the seven members of the Orioles who played for the Rangers in 2011, including No. 3 hitter Chris Davis who hit 33 home runs this season. Orioles manager Buck Showalter also managed the Rangers from 2003-06.

It would be even sweeter for all of the Orioles to eliminate a Yankees club that has feasted on them over the years. Baltimore's turnaround this season comes after a 93-loss season in 2011.

"We're not in awe of them," Jones said. "We just know that they're going to be prepared. It is what it is."