Rangers manager Jeff Banister left the team on Saturday morning to be with his ill mother.

Banister's mother, Verda, lives in Clear Lake, Texas. Bench coach Steve Buechele will manage the last two games of the Rangers' series against the Athletics. The Rangers were on the fringe of the American League wild-card race, going into Saturday, as they trailed the Twins by 3 1/2 games for the second wild-card spot.

"The circumstances of this are terrible, but family first,'' Buechele said.