Rangers Lose To Blue Jays 4-3 In 18 Innings
TORONTO (AP) — The way they're scuffling at the plate right now, the Texas Rangers might have played 36 innings on Saturday without scoring another run.
Instead, they settled for a deflating 18-inning loss, matching a season high with their third straight defeat.
Rajai Davis drove in Emilio Bonifacio with a two-out single in the 18th and Toronto beat the Rangers 4-3 in a game that matched the longest in club history for both teams.
Texas rallied to tie it with two in the ninth, but that was the only time they came through in the clutch. The Rangers finished 1 for 19 with runners in scoring position and left 17 runners on base, including eight in extra innings.
"It's definitely frustrating," outfielder David Murphy said. "It's great the way that we came back in the ninth, but when you have plenty of opportunities and you don't get it done, it's frustrating."
Murphy was caught in a rundown after hitting a leadoff double in the top of the 18th, snuffing out a potential rally.
"I guess I over-anticipated it," Murphy said of being caught too far from the bag on Elvis Andrus' bunt attempt. "You can't take a chance there."
Rangers manager Ron Washington shared Murphy's frustration at the outcome, but said he was encouraged that his team kept creating chances.
"We kept putting ourselves in position to get something done and it didn't happen," Washington said. "But I'll keep taking us putting ourselves in position. Pretty soon, we'll break through."
Having just stood up for a rare 17th inning stretch, only a small fraction of the crowd of 44,079 remained when Bonifacio hit a one-out single in the 18th and took third with two outs on a wild pickoff throw by Ross Wolf (1-1).
Davis followed with a bouncing single down the third base line, sending the Blue Jays streaming out of their dugout in celebration and ending a game that started under sunny skies but finished with the stadium lights on.
"Relief, a lot of relief," Davis said when asked to describe his emotions. "Thank God, wow."
Wolf (1-1) was Texas' fifth pitcher and worked 6 2-3 innings, almost as many as starter Yu Darvish, who went seven.
"He did an outstanding job," Washington said of Wolf. "That's the prototype for what a long man is supposed to do."
Aaron Loup (3-3), the ninth Toronto pitcher, went one inning for the win. With his bullpen empty, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said infielder Andy LaRoche would have been called on to pitch if the game had lasted much longer.
Brad Lincoln, who pitched a career-high four scoreless innings for Toronto, was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo after the game. The Blue Jays will call up another reliever on Sunday.
"I kept my team in the game and we won, but the business side of it does kind of stink," Lincoln said of his demotion.
This was the third time in seven games the Blue Jays have gone to extra innings. They lost a 17-inning game at San Diego on May 31, but beat the Padres in 11 innings on June 2.
Adam Lind had four hits as the Blue Jays won their third straight and fourth of five.
The Rangers played 18 innings for the fifth time in their history. They last did it on June 24, 2004, beating Seattle 9-7.
Toronto had played 18 innings once before, beating the Angels on July 28, 2005, when current Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker earned the win in a 2-1 victory.
Texas reliever Jason Frasor pitched one inning for the Blue Jays that day, and also worked an inning for the Rangers in this one.
Frasor said while such lengthy games are physically tiring for position players, they're mentally draining for relievers.
"If you're sitting down in the bullpen, it's just the anticipation, the preparation, it just exhausts you," Frasor said. "You're going 'Is this going to be me, is this going to me be?' and then it's not you. You just keep waiting and waiting and it's exhausting."
Toronto led 3-1 heading into the ninth, but the Rangers rallied off closer Casey Janssen behind a trio of Texas pinch-hitters. Leonys Martin singled, Murphy walked and A.J. Pierzynski drove in a run with a broken-bat single, then Andrus tied it with a sacrifice fly.
According to STATS, the last time three Rangers pinch hitters reached safely was July 15, 1999, against Arizona.
The Blue Jays escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the 10th. After Dustin McGowan struck out Jeff Baker, Juan Perez came on and got Martin to line out to Jose Bautista in right, with Lance Berkman thrown out at home plate to end the inning.
"We know Bautista's got one of the best arms in the game and he did what he had to do," Washington said. "Just hoping he overthrew it or underthrew it or did something, but he made a perfect throw."
The Blue Jays put runners at second and third with two outs in the 13th, but Wolf got Mark DeRosa to ground out.
Andrus walked to begin the 14th, stole second and went to third on Jurickson Profar's sacrifice bunt, but Berkman and Adrian Beltre both grounded out.
"We're just not getting it done," Washington said. "It's that simple."
Darvish allowed two earned runs and five hits. He walked three and struck out seven.
Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle allowed one run and four hits in seven innings.
Jeff Baker homered off Buehrle in the seventh, the first homer off Buehrle since May 6.
Also Check Out:
- Man Killed In Southlake Town Square Shooting
- Severe Weather Moves Across North Texas
- Cousins Beef Over Gas Money; One Dead
- Tornado Twists Through Oklahoma Taking Lives
- Severe Weather Pictures: May 15, 2013
MOST VIEWED GALLERIES
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
- PHOTOS: Severe Weather Aftermath - May 16
- PHOTOS: Dallas Comic Con 2013
---------------------------------------------
