Final
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.
- ML
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 4 0
TEXAS 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 x 7 12 2 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: HOU - ROY OSWALT, RICK WHITE (7TH), TREVER MILLER (8TH), CHAD QUALLS
(8TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS
TEX - JAMEY WRIGHT, FRANK FRANCISCO (6TH), C.J. WILSON
(7TH), AKINORI OT
Jun 23 7:00 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MARLON BYRD SCORED IAN KINSLER.
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, M BYRD ON FIRST, M YOUNG ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 2
TEXAS 7 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR TEXAS: F CATALANOTTO (.198, 1-FOR-4)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 6:51 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MICHAEL YOUNG SCORED BRAD WILKERSON AND KENNY
LOFTON.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, M YOUNG ON FIRST, I KINSLER ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 2
TEXAS 6 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR TEXAS: M BYRD (.365, 1-FOR-4)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 6:50 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY GERALD LAIRD (5) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN THE
8TH OFF RICK WHITE.
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 2, TEXAS 4
DUE UP FOR TEXAS: B WILKERSON (.214, 0-FOR-2, BB)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 6:43 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRAD AUSMUS SCORED MIKE LAMB.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B AUSMUS ON SECOND, M ENSBERG ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 2
TEXAS 3 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: E BRUNTLETT (.375, 0-FOR-2)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 5:37 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MICHAEL YOUNG SCORED KENNY LOFTON AND IAN
KINSLER.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, M YOUNG ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
TEXAS 3 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TEXAS: M BYRD (.362, 0-FOR-2)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 5:24 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY IAN KINSLER SCORED TRAVIS METCALF.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, I KINSLER ON SECOND, K LOFTON ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
TEXAS 1 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TEXAS: M YOUNG (.289, 0-FOR-2)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 5:22 PM - ML
AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MORGAN ENSBERG SCORED MIKE LAMB.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M ENSBERG ON SECOND, L SCOTT ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
TEXAS 0 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: B AUSMUS (.265, 0-FOR-1)
Astros vs. RangersJun 23 4:55 PM
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