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Young, Rangers take Silver Boot

Jun 24, 2007 - 12:44 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Michael Young continued his superb interleague play and helped guarantee the return of the Lone Star Series' Silver Boot Trophy to Arlington.

Young had two hits and drove in four runs and Jamey Wright pitched effectively into the sixth inning as the Rangers recorded a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Young's two-out hit off Astros starter Roy Oswalt (7-5) plated Kenny Lofton and Ian Kinsler to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning.

"It's nice to be playing better baseball that's for sure," Young said. "I had two at bats that I'd consider disappointing to start the game but then everything sort of clicked in."

Young gave Texas some breathing room in the eighth inning with another two-run single. After the Houston bullpen loaded the bases, Young sent Chad Qualls' 1-0 offering into center field, scoring Brad Wilkerson and Lofton to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead.

"It's a real tribute to the guys that are getting on base in front of me," Young said. "They did a really great job today and against a guy like Roy Oswalt, it's not an easy thing to do."

Young has the highest batting average in interleague history at .351. The 30-year-old has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games against interleague opponents.

After winning four of their five contests against the Astros this season, the Rangers are assured of winning the Silver Boot, which is given to the winner of the season series between the two Texas-state teams.

Wright (1-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings, yielding just two runs and three hits with six walks and five strikeouts. Wright stranded two runners on base three times, each time with the lead runner at third.

"I was really wild early, but I stayed aggressive and kept trying to get out in front of the hitters," Wright said. "My sinker was running pretty well and I had a decent curve that I used to get out of some jams."

Lofton led the Rangers offense with three hits, finishing a home run short of the cycle. The 40-year-old Lofton is now hitting .372 for his career against Houston, the highest batting average of any opponent against the Astros.

"Lofton was perfect today, just one swing away from the cycle. He was our catalyst and kept getting out there for Michael (Young) and Young did what he's supposed to do," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Texas added four insurance runs in the eighth inning thanks to Gerald Laird's solo home run to center and Marlon Byrd's RBI single combined with Young's two-run single.

Oswalt, who has just one win in his last eight starts, gave up three runs and eight hits with four walks over 6 1/3 innings.

"They had some balls here and there that fell in," Oswalt said. "It could have gone either way, it was just one of those games."

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Mike Lamb scored on a Morgan Ensberg double off the left field wall.