ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler and his teammates just rattled off seven straight games to make it to the American League wild-card tiebreak game.

And, on a Sunday when the players could hear fans chanting "baseball town" at Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton -- mocking his comments from before the season -- Kinsler wondered aloud how a must-win game in Arlington wasn't a sellout.

Where was everybody?

"We've been to the postseason three years in a row," Kinsler said. "We're fighting for our playoff lives. I'm just a little disappointed this place wasn't sold out and rocking.

"You can't say it's the Cowboys because they were on the road. The fans were chanting 'baseball town' and stuff like that, and we can't sell out."

The Rangers had an announced crowd of 40,057, meaning there were close to 9,000 empty seats. The Rangers finished with 3,1135,477 fans, second in the American League to the New York Yankees and second only to last season in team history.

"The fans that were here were amazing," he said. "They were allowed to chant 'baseball town' because they were here supporting us. It was a little disappointing to see the place wasn't sold out today."

The Rangers will play again Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving fans another chance to fill up the ballpark.

When its team is playing for the postseason, a "baseball town" shows up.