Top Ten List: Things That Stand Out About Texas Rangers 1-0 Win Over Toronto

D-tails: Rangers 1, Toronto 0
• Boxscore, Standings, Depot game blog
• Rangers sign “El Duque” Hernandez to minor league deal

ARLINGTON – Despite the tiny little score, there were plenty of story lines to come out of Thursday’s win over Toronto. We’ll discuss several of them in more depth Friday morning, but in the meantime, here are 10 things that really stand out about the game:

10. 2B Ian Kinsler and DH Andruw Jones both were 0-for-4 and the last month has not been kind to either. Kinsler is hitting .200 for the last 31 days with a .328 on-base percentage. Jones is hitting .180 with a .259 OBP for the same time.

9. 3B Michael Young did not reach base bia a hit or walk during the series, going 0-for-13 and watching his batting average slide from .336 to .318. You have to go back to a late July series against Seattle in 2002 to find a series of at least three games in which he recorded neither a hit or walk.

8. RHP Frank Francisco was not available again and hasn’t pitched in nine days. Seems like he needs to go on the DL and get right and the Rangers need to get their bullpen to full strength with what they’ve got at their disposal.

7. That said, manager Ron Washington did an excellent job of handling what he had on Thursday by having RHP Darren O’Day finish the eighth (it took him two pitches) and start the ninth by getting Vernon Wells to pop up before going to LHP C.J. Wilson to face left-handed hitting Adam Lind. Great job of relief work by the two relievers as well.

6. Speaking of Lind, Rangers will be very happy not to see him for a while. He was 5-for-12 with three homers and six RBIs in the series. And he doubled off Wilson to make the ninth interesting.

5. Maybe it’s just me, but I think moving 1B Chris Davis down to the eighth spot is a significant move. Think alleviating some of the pressure that comes along with the traditionally more productive seventh spot will help. At least it seemed that way Thursday with Davis going 1-for-2 (with a double) and walking.

4. More exceptional infield defense. SS Elvis Andrus joined 3B Michael Young in pursuit of a foul pop along the third base line. Andrus went into the seats to steal the catch. Young contributed his own outstanding defensive play by diving to take a hit away from Alex Rios. Davis helped out with a strong scoop. Defense was key considering Kevin Millwood struck out only one batter and that was his last of the night.

3. Marlon Byrd did not let the Rangers’ one scoring opportunity go to waste. With runners on second and third and one out in the second, he delivered what turned out to be the game-winning sacrifice fly to left. Terrific job of hitting, right? Um, not quite.

“It was a good result, but a bad piece of hitting,” Byrd said. “I should have gone the other way with the ball. They were playing back on the right side, giving us the run. My job is to make sure that whether I hit it on the ground or in the air, that I hit it to the right side.”

2. LF David Murphy had two hits vs. lefties, doubling his season total against left-handed pitchers. Since ending his 0-for-23 drought to start the season, Murphy is hitting .330. Among the Rangers, only Michael Young, at .331, has a higher average.

1. We constantly talk about the importance of Strike One for pitchers. Well, how about Out One? RHP Kevin Millwood did not allowe the leadoff batter in any inning to reach base. Changes the whole complexion of each inning. Though Millwood had only one strikeout, he got it when he most needed it – with a runner in scoring position in the eighth inning. He’s seventh in the league in ERA (2.72) and fourth in innings pitched.