ARLINGTON, Texas — Chien-Ming Wang won for the first time in more than a year, Colby Rasmus homered for a third straight game, and the Toronto Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep by beating the Texas Rangers 7-2 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Wang wins for first time in over a year, Blue Jays beat Rangers 7-2 to finish 4-game sweep
June 17, 2013 at 10:33AM
The Rangers lost their sixth in a row and fell to 1-6 on a season-high, 11-game homestand. Texas has dropped six straight for the first time since April 15-21, 2010.
Wang (1-0) allowed seven hits in seven shutout innings to win for the first time since last June 12 with Washington.
Adam Lind hit a three-run homer, and J.P. Arencibia added a two-run shot for Toronto. The Blue Jays outscored the Rangers 24-4 to sweep a four-game series at Texas for the first time.
Derek Holland (5-4) allowed four runs and 10 hits in six innings for the Rangers, who have only scored eight runs in their slide.
Elvis Andrus had an RBI single, and Ian Kinsler walked with the bases loaded to break up the shutout in the ninth.
The 33-year-old Wang was 4-4 with a 2.33 ERA in nine starts this year for the Yankees' Triple-A team at Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. New York released him last week at his request and Wang signed with the Blue Jays.
Wang finished his 99-pitch outing by getting Andrus to ground out to second with runners on first and third in the seventh. He struck out five and walked two.
Arencibia, who entered the series in a 3-for-41 rut, hit his second homer in three games. He lined an 0-1 pitch just over the 14-foot fence in left, a two-run shot that gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
It was the first home run Holland has given up since May 19.
Rasmus led off the fourth with a drive off the foul pole in right for his 13th homer.
The Blue Jays scored four times in the seventh to extend their lead to 7-0. Jose Bautista had an RBI single, and Lind capped it with a three-run homer to right off Kyle McClellan.
Lind went 7 for 17 in the series with two home runs and six RBIs.
Adrian Beltre and A.J. Pierzynski had consecutive one-out singles in the fourth to put runners on first and third. The Rangers, however, couldn't take advantage of that chance.
Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion made a diving catch to his right of Nelson Cruz's liner, and David Murphy popped out to left to end the threat.
Texas rookie Jurickson Profar started at third base for the first time in his career. Beltre had a scheduled day off in the field and was the designated hitter.
Before the game, Profar spent time on the field working with infield coach Dave Anderson.
Kinsler batted third for the first time since May 22, 2011. He batted in that spot 60 times in 2010.
The changes didn't make a much of a difference as the Rangers finished the series 2 for 24 with runners in scoring position.
Texas will complete its homestand with a four-game series starting Monday against the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics.
NOTES: Texas DH Lance Berkman had a scheduled day off. . Lind has hit safely in 17 of 19 games. . Rangers 1B Mitch Moreland (right hamstring strain) will start a rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco on Monday night.
about the writer
Only 34 years old, Jeremy Zoll has worked his way up the organizational ranks since coming to the Twins in 2018.
