Rangers Salvage Split - Win 4-2

Colby Lewis set 'em up, finally getting to 10 wins this season, and Neftali Feliz (above,right) knocked 'em down for his 35th save of the year. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

For the first time since July 16, Colby Lewis (W, 10-12) has won a start. After nine straight starts without a victory, Lewis gave the Texas Rangers (77-63) 6 1-3 innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out eight batters. The offense finally stepped up and did it's job in one of his starts, thanks to Mitch Moreland - who knocked in a career-high three runs for the game - and Lewis was able to match a career-high with 10 wins.

"He's been pitching well, it's just been a string of bad luck for him, not getting the breaks when he needs them," Moreland said. "Tonight we were able to get him a win and get him back on track."

The Rangers managed to pitch more cautiously to the Blue Jays' home-run hitting lineup, and that was the key to a four game series split. Texas finishes the 10-game road trip with a 4-6 record, and still has a heft 7.5 game lead in the American League West.

Texas returns home for a three game weekend series against the New York Yankees. The Yanks have the best record in baseball so far this season at 87-53, and are 4-1 this season against the Rangers. New York is current 2.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for first in the American League East division.

C.J. Wilson (14-6, 3.10 ERA) will get the first crack at the potent Yankees lineup for the Rangers, while Javier Vazquez (10-9, 5.01) will take the mound for N.Y. In his last start against the Bronx Bombers, Wilson went 5 1-3 innings, allowing only one run, and the Rangers won 4-3. Vazquez has a rough outing in his last start vs Texas, allowing six runs on eight hits in only 4 1-3 innings. New York won the game 7-6.

Game one is Friday night, with a scheduled 7:05 p.m. start time.

News and Notes:

• Vladimir Guerrero has been on a roll lately. The Rangers designated hitter went 3 for 4 Thursday night with two runs scored and has gone 10 for 22 with a homer, five runs, and three RBI in his last five games - raising his season batting average to .301.
• Although he got the win, Texas still hasn't scored over four runs in a Lewis start since July 16.
• This game concluded the season series against Toronto for the Rangers. The Blue Jays beat Texas seven out of 10 meetings this season.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)