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Sunday, Apr. 9 3:05pm ET
Texas overcomes Alicea's trio of errors | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Rick Helling learned last year how tough it is to lower an ERA inflated by two awful April outings. So with one hiccup already in the books, he took the mound Sunday determined not to let it happen again. Helling allowed two runs after only one out and needed 75 pitches to get through the first three innings, but he made it through six for the victory as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5. David Segui singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth and Luis Alicea drove in two runs, somewhat offsetting his three errors. The second one let Toronto tie the game at 3 and the final one helped the Blue Jays score twice in the ninth. Helling (1-0) was only charged with the two runs that came on Carlos Delgado's first-inning double. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out seven, including five straight over the second and third innings. The strikeouts came at a price: a lot of pitches. He had only one strikeout in his final three innings, which took 47 pitches. "I knew right away I had good stuff," said Helling, who won for the first time in seven starts, ending a career-worst four-game losing streak. "I just wasn't consistent enough early." Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said his team had a chance to knock out Helling. "We swung at a lot of bad balls," he said. "He was effectively wild." Helling sliced his ERA from 10.80 to 5.79, a lot better than his 14.85 ERA after two starts last year, when he finished 13-11 with a 4.84 ERA. After allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings Tuesday against Chicago, there was no batting practice off him Sunday. The Blue Jays earned the hits they got and were often confused by his new, expanded arsenal. "I've thrown more changeups in my first two starts this year than I did my first 20 starts last year," Helling said. "I threw more curves than sliders, but I threw enough sliders to keep them honest. I threw two or three first-pitch sliders that they just looked at." Six of Toronto's seven hits were doubles, two each by Delgado and Darrin Fletcher. But the best weapon for the Blue Jays' offense was Alicea's defense. After his fourth-inning throwing error from third base was erased by a caught stealing, a grounder by Raul Mondesi went between his legs and let Homer Bush score from first. Texas regained the lead in the bottom half when Segui, acquired from Toronto in a three-way trade last month, hit a two-out single up the middle off Roy Halladay (1-1) to drive in Royce Clayton. Halladay left after allowing a single to Ruben Mateo and a two-run triple by Frank Catalanotto. Bill Haselman, getting a rare start at catcher in place of Ivan Rodriguez, made it 7-3 by singling in a run in the eighth. Alicea moved to second to start the ninth and should've made the game-ending out on a roller by Bush. But Alicea's throw pulled Segui off the bag and allowed a run to score. A double by Mondesi drove in Bush and brought up Delgado with the tying run, but he grounded out to shortstop. Alicea's bat made up for some of it as his two-run double in the second helped Texas take a 3-2 lead. The other run came on a solo homer by Rafael Palmeiro. Halladay gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. "It was just one of those days that I felt I didn't have much," he said. "It's hard to explain, the dead-arm thing. From some reason, I just didn't feel as live." Game notesFirst-base umpire Mark Carlson appeared to miss two calls -- both against the Rangers -- in the first three innings. Texas manager Johnny Oates and the crowd let him hear about it after the second one. ... Bush, whose streak of 106 consecutive games played ended Saturday night, returned to the lineup and scored three runs despite going 0-for-4. ... The Rangers have allowed runs in five straight first innings. ... Halladay's 92 pitches in 4 2/3 innings made David Wells' 89-pitch victory Saturday night seem even more impressive. ... Craig Monroe of Texas' Double-A Tulsa farm team drove in nine runs in a 17-2 victory over Shreveport on Saturday. He was 4-for-5 with three homers, including a grand slam. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Toronto Clubhouse Texas Clubhouse RECAPS Baltimore 11 Detroit 6
Texas 7
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