The Red Sox would have preferred to clinch a playoff berth with a victory last night, but no one was complaining at just a little before 1 a.m. this morning when the Angels beat the Rangers to officially give the Sox the American League wild card for the second straight season.

Hours earlier, the Red Sox had dropped an 8-7 decision to the Blue Jays in which they nearly overcame an 8-2 deficit with two outs in the eighth.

The Red Sox weren't sweating their fifth straight loss and second straight failure to clinch the wild card. They instead focused on the Baseball that put them in the position to be rooting against the Rangers in the first place.

``We lost tonight, but we put ourselves in this situation by doing better in the regular season,'' said designated hitter David Ortiz. ``We worked our way to create this situation and even if we didn't win tonight, we could be moving on to the playoffs. So it's a celebration.''

A number of players remained at the park awaiting the clincher. The plastic wrap already was suspended over their lockers in anticipation and a number of players sported champagne goggles just in case things got out of hand, as they often do in such situations.

The Red Sox will face the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., next week in the Division Series. The Red Sox have knocked the Angels out of the playoffs three times since 2004.

The idea of clinching the wild card on the field seemed pretty improbable when Victor Martinez grounded into a double play in the eighth inning with the Red Sox trailing the Blue Jays by six runs.

But against all logic, Fenway Park suddenly went berserk.

Kevin Youkilis doubled in a run, and the crowd roared. Ortiz hit a double that was just shy of his 29th home run, and suddenly it felt like the Sox were playing for more than just a foregone conclusion of a playoff bid.

Jason Bay walked, and then it was utter bedlam when J.D. Drew launched a Shawn Camp offering over the home bullpen for a three-run shot that made it 8-7.

All that remained was for the Red Sox to complete their comeback, but it wasn't to be. Youkilis ended a marathon at-bat against Jason Frasor with the winning run at first base by looking at a third strike, a low borderline pitch that delayed the celebration a little longer.

``It was a good atmosphere,'' center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said. ``I liked how we battled back. We put ourselves in a position to win the game. The fans were definitely into it.''

Clay Buchholz, who had been so sharp the past six weeks, saw his run of excellence hit a speed bump. The Jays touched him for seven runs on eight hits in five innings, blasting five homers off him as part of a six-homer barrage. Adam Lind hit three himself, two off Buchholz.

``Just looking at their stats in September, those guys are hitting the ball and swinging the bat really well,'' said Buchholz, who felt he had particular trouble with his two-strike pitches. ``Make mistakes like that to a team that can hit, and you see what happens.''

All of that said, the Sox nearly came all the way back. When Youkilis stepped to the plate against Frasor with Ellsbury at second and the speedy Joey Gathright at first, any hit to the outfield was going to tie and possibly win the game.

``We're moving with the pitch, and if he hits one anywhere near a gap we're both going to score,'' Gathright said. ``I had a lot racing through my mind. You're on first. You could be the winning run that gets your team to the playoffs. It would have been fun . . . but it didn't work out that way.''

The fun part came just a few hours later.

- jtomase@bostonherald.com