Final
Young knocks in 5, Rangers rout Blue Jays
Aug 20, 2012 - 12:45 AMVideo
Young drove in five runs and homered for the first time since May 7, leading the Rangers to their third win in four games.
Matt Harrison (14-7) overcame Toronto blues to become the fourth American League pitcher to 14 wins. Harrison, who was 0-2 with an 18.00 earned run average in five games (four starts) against the Jays coming into Sunday, gave up two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings.
"He worked fast, he got quick outs, he pounded the strike zone, he used all his pitches," Texas manager Ron Washington said of Harrison's outing.
Henderson Alvarez (7-11) did not have the same success, as the Rangers tagged the right-hander for eight runs on 12 hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings en route to his fourth straight loss.
"I didn't think he used his secondary stuff enough, particularly as they started to be aggressive early in the counts," Toronto manager John Farrell said of Alvarez.
Mike McCoy hit his first home run of the season and drove in two runs but the Blue Jays lost for the fifth time in six games.
The Blue Jays scored first after Yunel Escobar singled and Moises Sierra walked to start the second inning. Escobar, who advanced to third on a bunt, came home on McCoy's groundout.
The lead did not last for long, as the Rangers erupted for eight unanswered runs.
David Murphy led off the third with a ground-rule double then scored on Geovany Soto's base hit. Mitch Moreland then put Texas ahead, 2-1, with a run- scoring single.
Murphy doubled home Young in the fourth before the Rangers exploded for five in the fifth.
Elvis Andrus picked up a one-out single and scored when Josh Hamilton sliced a double to the left-field gap. Following an Adrian Beltre walk and a Nelson Cruz RBI single, Young crushed a first-pitch fastball over the fence in left- center field to open up an 8-1 lead.
McCoy slammed a solo homer in the bottom half of the fifth, but the Rangers quickly piled on two more runs.
Andrus started the sixth with a base hit before being erased on Hamilton's fielder's choice ground out. After Beltre flew out, Cruz and Young delivered back-to-back ground-rule doubles to run Texas' lead to eight.
Murphy capped the scoring with a solo shot in the ninth, giving Texas an 11-2 lead.
Game Notes
Texas won its first season series against Toronto since 2006 (6-3) ... The Rangers have won four straight and nine of 10 rubber games since June 10 ... Texas is 20-11 in day games ... Harrison became the first Rangers lefty to record 10 road victories in a season ... Harrison matched his career-best with his 14th win ... Harrison tied Tampa Bay's David Price and Chicago's Chris Sale for the most wins in the AL since May 22 with 10 ... The Blue Jays failed to steal a base for the first time in 10 games ... Toronto has lost five of its last six completed series.
- TEXAS: 11
TORONTO: 2
Final
Aug 19 3:43 PM - David Murphy lead-off Home Run (11) to right. Geovany Soto due up.
Rangers 11, Blue Jays 2 Top 9, 0 OutsAug 19 3:29 PM - Michael Young ground-rule double to center scored Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. Runner on second with two outs and David Murphy due up.
Rangers 10, Blue Jays 2 Top 6, 2 OutsAug 19 2:51 PM - Mike McCoy one-out, solo Home Run (1) to left. Yan Gomes due up.
Rangers 8, Blue Jays 2 Bot 5, 1 OutAug 19 2:40 PM - Brad Lincoln enters the game for the Blue Jays with a runner on first and one out.
Rangers 8, Blue Jays 1 Top 5, 1 OutAug 19 2:32 PM - Josh Hamilton double to center scored Elvis Andrus. Runner on second with one out and Adrian Beltre due up.
Rangers 4, Blue Jays 1 Top 5, 1 OutAug 19 2:21 PM - David Murphy double to right scored Michael Young. On the play, David Murphy thrown out at third. None on with two outs and Geovany Soto due up.
Rangers 3, Blue Jays 1 Top 4, 2 OutsAug 19 2:05 PM - Ian Kinsler doubled to left. On the play, Mitch Moreland advances to third. Runners on second and third with none out and Elvis Andrus due up.
Rangers 2, Blue Jays 1 Top 3, 0 OutsAug 19 1:43 PM - Geovany Soto single to right scored David Murphy. On the play, Geovany Soto advanced to second on the throw. Runner on second with none out and Mitch Moreland due up.
Rangers 1, Blue Jays 1 Top 3, 0 OutsAug 19 1:40 PM - Mike McCoy ground out third to first scored Yunel Escobar. On the play, Moises Sierra advances to third. Runner on third with two outs and Yan Gomes due up.
Rangers 0, Blue Jays 1 Bot 2, 2 OutsAug 19 1:33 PM - TEXAS: 0
TORONTO: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Aug 19 1:08 PM
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