By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

ARLINGTON, Texas — Yes, umpire Doug Eddings made a lousy call that cost the Red Sox a run in the third inning.

Yes, the Red Sox were using a lineup that seemed better suited for a split squad game in Fort Myers in March.

Yes, Erik Bedard pitched pretty well until MIke Napoli somehow got around on a fastball up and in in the sixth inning.

All true. And all meaningless. The Red Sox have to find a way to beat the Rangers. It's getting kind of silly.

The Sox are 0-4 against Texas this season, getting outscored 30-11. They're 6-17 over the last three seasons including 3-11 at Texas.

They've lost five straight games against the Rangers and 11 of the last 13.

Terry Francona dismissed a question about his team's woes against Texas, correctly pointing out that the Sox are a different team now than they were at the beginning of the season and last season.

But the Rangers have noticed.

“We understand that when you play a good team like that, you need to play well,” second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “They’re fun games. We enjoy playing those games. Hopefully it gives us confidence.”

Barring a shift in the standings with 35 games to go, the AL wild card team is going to be at Rangers Ballpark on Sept. 30 for Game 1 of the Division Series. That's not set in stone, but that's quite likely how it'll work out.

For the Sox, that would mean going from a six-game road trip to New York and Baltimore to a workout in Texas on the 29th.

The Sox would take their chances with Jon Lester and Josh Beckett in the first two games of a series on Mars, especially with a healthy lineup. But give their recent history against the Rangers, avoiding them in the first round seems like a worthy goal.