Rangers use long ball to nip Halladay, Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz each hit two-run homers as the Texas Rangers edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4, in the opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.

Marlon Byrd chipped in with a 2-for-4 effort, including a double and a run scored for the Rangers, who were coming off a 6-5 win against Kansas City on Sunday. Texas has won three of five overall.

Brandon McCarthy (2-0) earned the win following a strong six-inning start. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits while striking out two and walking a pair. The Rangers bullpen gave up only one unearned run in three innings with Frank Francisco getting his second save of the season.

Aaron Hill had a double and solo homer for Toronto, which had won four of five coming into the contest. Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Adam Lind each had an RBI apiece in defeat. Lyle Overbay went 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks for the Blue Jays.

Roy Halladay (3-1) was tagged with the loss after going eight innings. The former Cy Young Award winner was touched for five runs on eight hits. He fanned nine without issuing a walk.

Home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley was taken off the field on a stretcher after Hank Blalock's broken bat hit him in the head with one out in the sixth inning. After being attended to by stadium medical personnel and carted off the field while strapped to a backboard, second base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt took over behind the plate.

With the Blue Jays trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Hill's one-out solo homer to left deadlocked things.

Then after Josh Hamilton was retired on a ground out to start the top of the sixth, Danley took the brunt of a Blalock broken bat off the side of his head, resulting in a 10-minute delay.

Texas then reclaimed the lead in the seventh. Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined a double to right, and two batters later Kinsler belted an 0-1 cutter over the right-field wall, putting the Rangers up 5-3.

Lind's run-scoring single off C.J. Wilson in the eighth brought home Rios to make it a one-run game. Francisco was then summoned from the bullpen and served up a single to Scott Rolen and a walk to Overbay to load the bases, but the Rangers reliever settled down to retire the next two batters to avoid further damage.

Toronto got a one-out double from Hill in the ninth, but was unable to plate a run after Rios grounded out and Wells popped out to end the game.

The Rangers drew first blood in the second when Byrd doubled to lead off the inning, then came around to score when Cruz lined an 0-1 fastball over the left-field fence to give Texas a 2-0 lead.

Toronto came back to even things in the third. Travis Snider doubled to start the frame and Marco Scutaro walked. Hill then flied out with Snider taking third. Rios followed with an RBI double to center and Wells' sacrifice fly made it a 2-2 game.

A Chris Davis run-scoring single in the fourth allowed Blalock to cross the plate, putting the Rangers back in front.

Game Notes

Texas split its eight games with the Blue Jays last season and is 9-9 in its last 18 matchups against them...It was announced earlier Tuesday that Rangers right-handed pitcher Kris Benson will miss his scheduled start versus Toronto on Wednesday due to right elbow tendinitis and be replaced by lefty Matt Harrison. Benson will start on Saturday at Baltimore...Toronto finished 2- for-10 with runners in scoring position, while Texas was 3-for-6.

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