Rangers have been in this spot before

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers have been here before.

Not just the postseason; this exact situation in it.

A year ago, they lost ALCS Game 5 to the Yankees in New York. They returned home with a 3-2 lead, but media in both cities speculated that the series' momentum might have shifted.

Then the Rangers shrugged it off and dispatched the Yankees, 6-1, to advance to their first World Series.

Now, after a Game 5 loss in Detroit, the Rangers lead the 2011 ALCS 3-2 and will try to close it out Saturday night as Derek Holland takes on Max Scherzer.

All five games have been close, with the Rangers winning 3-2 along with a pair of 7-3 11-inning games and the Tigers winning 5-2 and 7-5.

"We have a lot of experience to draw off of. Hopefully, it's an advantage for us," Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "The whole postseason is different. , you know what the whole deal is, and that definitely helps."

Rangers manager Ron Washington already has experienced that this-could-be-the-series reaction to every game. Does it help? "I think it does," he said.

"Having been through it, yes, we're more confident and, yes, we're very relaxed," he said. "But we also understand that the game has to be played. We certainly are playing against an opponent that's tough."

Both teams have had to prove that in this series as players have battled lingering injuries -- Alex Avila (knee) and Delmon Young (oblique) of the Tigers and Josh Hamilton (groin) and Adrian Beltre (knee) of the Rangers.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland gave his team the entire day off Friday. Washington made his workout optional -- though Michael Young was under the impression it was mandatory -- and Hamilton, Beltre and Nelson Cruz opted to stay home.

"It's an issue that we have to deal with," Washington said of Hamilton. "But he will show up and he will be in the lineup and he will play. As I said earlier, we are all dealing with some nagging injuries."

Leyland talked to reporters via conference call -- as did Scherzer -- early Friday afternoon before his team boarded a plane for Dallas. He said he also expects his dinged-up players in the lineup.

"I don't know that I've ever been prouder of a team than this one," Leyland said. "The way they're playing hurt and playing so hard. They're playing their hearts out right now. Are they good enough? We'll find out in a few days."

Notes & quotes:Rangers Game 6 starter Holland grew up in Newark, Ohio, which is about halfway between Cleveland and Cincinnati. But he didn't grow up rooting for the Indians or Reds. "I was a big TBS guy, so I got to see the Braves all the time," Holland said. "I was a Braves guy. I grew up idolizing Andy Pettitte, though."