ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ The AL West champion Texas Rangers have a couple of days to put their game back together for the postseason.

And the Anaheim Angels have all winter to figure out how to put a whole season together.

Those were the postscripts of the Angels' 1-0 season-ending victory over the Rangers on Sunday, which sent Texas to New York on a three-game losing streak for Tuesday night's Game 1 of the Division Series against the Yankees.

Furthermore, the potent Rangers scored only three runs in the final 20 innings of the regular season.

``(It) doesn't matter,'' said Rafael Palmeiro, one of the Rangers' four 100-RBI men, ``When we have to play ball, this team will be ready. The whole team is looking forward to Tuesday.''

It was safe to assume everyone was looking beyond Sunday.

With starters Matt Perisho and Jarrod Washburn throwing strikes and batters freely swinging, the teams completed a game that featured 22 strikeouts in 1 hour, 56 minutes.

``A game like today is a good one to have,'' said Texas manager Johnny Oates. ``You don't want to hang around too long if you have to go to New York, or go fishing.''

The recreation-bound are the Angels (70-92), ironically. It is ironic because the season-ending sweep gave them a 19-10 record after Joe Maddon became interim manager in the wake of Terry Collins' Sept. 3 resignation.

Before going 3-0 in October, the Angels were 16-12 in September, their first winning record in the month since 1991.

Comparable Septembers in recent seasons would have left the Angels sitting atop an AL West dynasty. But they finished the season with a 10-16 month in 1995 (and finished one game out), 10-15 in 1997 (six games out), and 9-15 in 1998 (three games out).

``We'd like to keep playing another month now. The guys are playing real well,'' Maddon said.

Such as Tim Salmon, whose seventh-inning homer off reliever Mike Morgan (13-10) provided the game's only run.

Salmon finished with 17 homers and 69 RBIs.

``A lot of guys are going to beat themselves up over the winter over what happened this season,'' said Salmon, who himself missed two months of it after spraining he left wrist on May 3.

The Rangers, on the other hand, merely hope to beat up the Yankees over the next week. Or at least put up a better fight than a year ago, when they were held to one run while suffering a three-game Division Series sweep to New York.

``There is better balance, and a couple of additional elements. We have more confidence,'' Todd Zeile said. ``Usually, the team that comes hot into a five-game playoff situation can dominate and win.''

Well, that wouldn't be the Rangers, whose bats remained cool Sunday.

Washburn, who came within an out of the first complete game of his career, combined with Lou Pote on a five-hitter.

``Our offense is something I don't worry about,'' said Rick Helling, scheduled to pitch Game 2 Thursday. ``I'm as confident as I can be in our offense. The way we look at it, it doesn't matter who we play. We're one of eight teams with an opportunity to win the World Series. It just so happens we're matched up against the Yankees again.''

New York won six of its first seven games against Texas this year. But the Rangers won three of the final five, including the last two, at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 24-25.

``That's a factor, for our confidence,'' Zeile said.

Aaron Sele (18-9) starts the opener against Orlando Hernandez (17-9).

``We're not going in there with a crystal ball, but I feel this is our best shot,'' Oates said. ``This is the best team I've ever managed.''

The strength of the team _ a persistent offense _ wasn't apparent during Anaheim's quickest game since Sept. 29, 1992, when it took 1:44 for a game against Kansas City.

Perisho, whose previous career high was eight strikeouts, fanned 12 in six innings while blanking the Angels on two singles, both by Garret Anderson.

Anderson went 2-for-3 to boost his average from .301 to .303 for the season, and to .300 for his five-year career.

Making his 21st career start, Washburn (4-5) allowed five hits in 8 2-3 innings, struck out seven and walked none.

After Tom Goodwin's two-out single in the ninth, Pote relieved and threw a wild pitch. He then retired Ivan Rodriguez on a groundout for his third save.

Notes: Rodriguez went 0-for-4 and finished with 199 hits and 116 runs, both second-highest ever for catchers. Mike Piazza's 201 hits in 1997 and Mickey Cochrane's 118 runs in 1932 are the records. ... It was the Angels' first victory in a day game at home, following six losses. ... Anaheim 2B Trent Durrington went 0-for-3 and finished the season in an 0-for-21 slide and with two RBIs in 122 at-bats.