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Blue Jays score late, win series vs. Rangers

Jul 21, 2014 - 12:35 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Melky Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays past the Texas Rangers, 9-6, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Dioner Navarro hit a solo home run and Jose Reyes added two RBI for the Blue Jays, who have beaten the Rangers in eight of the last ten meetings between the teams.

"We came to life today," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "I felt a little more energy in the dugout."

Todd Redmond (1-4) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win. Mark Buehrle, who started for the Blue Jays, gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings of work.

Neftali Feliz (0-1) came on in the seventh and allowed Cabrera's tiebreaking homer.

Nick Tepesch started for the Rangers and lasted only 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and nine hits.

Tepesch worked himself into trouble in the bottom of the second. After a lead- off home run by Navarro, the righty allowed two hits and hit a batter to load the bases. Reyes singled home Dan Johnson and Steve Tolleson to put the Blue Jays up 3-0.

"You get in some trouble and your objective is to minimize the damage," said Tepesch. "I gave up three runs in the second and I probably should have done a better job of minimizing in that inning."

The Rangers got two runs back in the third. A sacrifice bunt moved Leonys Martin and Adam Rosales into scoring position and Daniel Robertson plated them with a line-drive single to right.

In the bottom of the inning, Colby Rasmus added a run for Toronto, scoring Jose Bautista with a single.

After Tepesch loaded the bases again in the fifth, he was pulled in favor of Shawn Tolleson, who allowed one of the runners to score off of a sacrifice fly by Johnson.

Texas countered with three runs in the sixth. Three hits loaded the bases for the Rangers and a balk by Buehrle scored Geovany Soto. Robertson tied the game at 5-5 with a two-run single.

Feliz took the mound in the seventh, but Cabrera's homer to right center put the Blue Jays in front 6-5.

Toronto loaded the bases again in the eighth and singles by Munenori Kawasaki and Cabrera stretched the lead to 9-5.

Texas scored one run in the ninth, but Aaron Loup took the mound to record the final out and thwart the Rangers' comeback attempt, picking up his fourth save of the season.

Game Notes

Texas has lost nine of its last 10 games and 15 of its last 17 ... Buehrle hasn't recorded a win since June 1.