Cruz's 8 RBIs Lead Rangers To 12-2 Victory Over Jays
ARLINGTON (AP) - Nelson Cruz broke out of an extended slump with a career-high eight RBIs and Colby Lewis took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his 10th victory as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-2 on Friday night.
Cruz drove in runs with hits in each of his four at-bats. His RBI single in the second put Texas ahead to stay and he added a three-run homer, his 22nd, in the fourth off Jo-Jo Reyes (5-8). The slugger had only one RBI in his previous 11 games, and was hitting only .186 (8 for 43) over the last 12.
After greeting reliever Shawn Camp with a two-out single in the fifth, Cruz added another two-run single in the sixth.
It was the second eight-RBI game in the majors this season, and the most for the Rangers since Ivan Rodriguez set a team record with nine at Seattle on April 13, 1999. Ben Zobrist had eight RBIs for Tampa Bay at Minnesota on April 28.
Lewis (10-7) allowed one run and two hits over 6 2-3 innings to become the third Rangers starter to win 10 games this season. Only one other time in the franchise's 51 seasons have the Rangers had three 10-game winners before the end of July.
It was the fifth straight victory -- over seven starts -- for Lewis, matching his career-best. The right-hander struck out five and walked two, those being the only runners he allowed the first five innings.
The no-hit bid ended when J.P. Arencibia snapped his 0-for-16 slide with a 398-foot homer to left field leading off the sixth. It was the AL-high 24th homer allowed this season by Lewis.
Arencibia led off the eighth with another homer, his 14th of the season.
Reyes gave up eight runs in 4 1-3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. The left-hander was trying to win his third consecutive start.
Toronto was coming off a three-game sweep of Seattle and had won eight of its previous 10. The Blue Jays had won 10 of their last 13 games against Texas, including three of four at Rangers Ballpark in April.
Michael Young added four hits and four runs for the AL West-leading Rangers, who won for the 13th time in 15 games. They ended a two-game losing streak that came after winning 12 straight.
Cruz had matched his previous career-high with six RBIs on July 1 in a 15-5 victory over Florida. He had only seven RBIs in the 16 games from then until Friday night when he had multiple RBIs in three consecutive innings.
His homer in the fourth put Texas up 5-0. His two-run single in the fifth made it 8-0, and his other two-run single an inning later made it 12-1.
Adrian Beltre had two hits and walked in three at-bats before leaving the game with a strained left hamstring sustained running from first to third on Young's single in the fifth.
Just before getting to third, Beltre cringed and pulled up slightly in an effort to take pressure off his leg. He reached back and grabbed the back of his leg above his knee after getting to the base.
Beltre will have an MRI on Saturday.
Notes: It was only the fourth time a Ranger had at least eight RBIs. ... The other season Texas had three 10-win pitchers by the end of July was 1979, with Fergie Jenkins, Steve Comer and Jim Kern. All of Kern's wins came as a reliever, meaning this is the first time the Rangers have accomplished that with three starters. ... Toronto leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar finished 0 for 4, ending his career-best streak of reaching base 25 consecutive games. ... Arencibia's second homer came off Arthur Rhodes, the 41-year-old left-hander making his first appearance since July 4. ... Young's four runs matched a career-high, and were the most by a Texas player this season.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
