Putting On A Show - Rangers Win 8-0

Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler (above) made spectacular plays both in the field and at the plate, helping Tommy Hunter become the first pitcher in franchise-history to start a season 7-0. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

It was just one of those nights for the Texas Rangers (55-39) where everything seemed to go right. Hitting, defense, and pitching were all at top form as Texas is now one game away from sweeping the Detroit Tigers.

"[Hunter] pitching well, the guys behind him played good defense and we put up some runs on the board," manager Ron Washington said. "That's about as clean a game of baseball as you can play."

Cruz Rolling Since All-Star Break

(left)Nelson Cruz is a major reason why the Rangers have won four out of it's last five games. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Over the last five games, the Texas Rangers have scored a total of 29 runs. Nelson Cruz alone has accounted for over 30 percent of the Texas offense with 10 RBI - at least one in every game - over the same stretch.

Even with Josh Hamilton slugging away to the tune of an MLB-leading .353 batting average, Cruz has been even hotter as of late. Since the All-Star break, Cruz is 12 of 23 from the plate (.521 batting average), has at least two hits in all five games, and has raised his average over 25 points since the break (.299 to .325).

Rangers Finally Put Tigers Away - 8-6 In Extras

A two-run home run by Nelson Cruz (above) in the 14th sealed a late-innings win for the Rangers. The win is the first for Texas in Detroit since 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

After nearly six hours of baseball, the Texas Rangers (54-39) finally pulled it out with a clutch, two-run homer from Nelson Cruz.

"It was starting to rain, and I was getting hungry," Cruz said jokingly. "It was a great feeling to see that ball go over the fence, especially since we hadn't scored since the seventh."

Cruz homer raced just over the right field wall, and the Rangers' dugout went crazy as he rounded the bases.

Rangers Take Three Of Four In Boston

Behind Bengie Molina's cycle Friday night and C.J. Wilson's (above) career-high 10 strikeouts Sunday afternoon, Texas won two of the final three games of the four-game series against Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

As bad as the Texas Rangers (53-39) played to end the first-half of the season, they played just the opposite in winning three of four against the Boston Red Sox (52-40) to start off the second-half. Bengie Molina became only the fifth player in Rangers' history to hit for the cycle, and Texas pitching dominated the Red Sox throughout the series.

Rangers Get Back To Business - Crush Red Sox 7-2

A huge first inning off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield proved too much for Boston to come back from as Texas scored six runs off six hits in the first alone. Tommy Hunter (above) provided 6 2-3 innings of solid work as he helped to lock the Red Sox down. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

After a poor start to the month of July, the Texas Rangers' (51-38) plan to come out of the All-Star break rested and ready has gotten off to a good start. Texas terrorized Boston Red Sox (51-38) starter Tim Wakefield (L, 3-8) to the tune of seven runs (six earned) on eight hits, knocking the 17-year veteran out of the game after only two innings.

The win stopped a four-game skid and the Rangers, as a whole, looked energized coming out of the break.

"Before the break, I felt like we needed a break. Some of the guys were tired," said Josh Hamilton, who regained the Major League Baseball lead in batting average (.351) with a 3 for 4 game. "Everybody got some rest and we came out stronger."