Michael Young's hit lifts Texas Rangers past Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 – MLB Update
Michael Young hit a breathtaking winning single in the ninth inning on Sunday, July 23 to give the Texas Rangers a difficult 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rangers Ballpark.
A night after winning by 12-2, the Rangers once again played an awe-inspiring game to win.
Mitch Moreland exactly knows what brings them the glorious victories with such uninterrupted regularity. Coupled with the constant practice, it is – for Moreland, the confidence to win the games.
"We practice it a lot. It shows our versatility," Moreland said. "We can swing our way out of it, or small ball, we can do that, too."
When Matt Harrison came on the mound to pitch for the Rangers, Adam Lind doubled to deep right, enabling Eric Thames to score the first run for the Blue Jays. Toronto maintained the lead with a strong first inning of Carlos Villanueva.
The lead lasted till the third inning when Ian Kinsler levelled the score with his RBI single. The Rangers, who had won their last game by 12-2, came back in the fourth with Chris Davis’ RBI single to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the game.
Nelson Cruz – who had scored 8 RBIs in the last game, also capitalised on the seemingly weakening pace of Villanueva’s pitches and doubled to deep left-centre, giving a 3-1 lead to the Rangers. However, the lead was not to last for long.
The 4-hits three-run sixth inning by the Blue Jays brought about an exciting flavour in the game. J.P. Arencibia, Yunel Escobar and Eric Thames scored a single each to give the Blue Jays a comfortable 4-3 lead for the first time in the game.
Villanueva pitched a strong sixth inning to be in a dominant position in the game followed by Jason Frasor, an equally effective seventh inning that did not see even a single hit.
While Mark Lowe pitched a shutout ninth for the Rangers, the Blue Jays were still ahead with the 4-3 lead. However, everything turned for good in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Rangers’ offence sparked with more zeal.
Marc Rzepczynski was first taken to task by Elvis Andrus with a single and then Michael Young who singled to deep right to give the Rangers an unlikely 5-4 victory, in a game dominated by the Blue Jays.
"You just have to play baseball according to the way it presents itself," Rangers’ manager Ron Washington said. "We executed. Great execution in that inning. Great execution."
The Rangers put in a brilliant performance to squeak out a win in this hard fought game. The Blue Jays will be looking to improve their performance for their next match-up.
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