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 The former Toronto catcher answered the only way he could,
hitting an R.A. Dickey knuckleball to left field for a three-run
homer in the seventh inning. It provided all the cushion
right-hander Yu Darvish needed as the Rangers snapped an eight-game
losing streak with a 5-1 victory.
"I view it as they cared for me," Arencibia said of the booing.
"It's definitely better as an opposing player if you get booed."
Arencibia was playing first base for the Rangers after being
recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.
"It had nothing to do with the individual hitting it," Blue Jays
manager John Gibbons said. "It was a big blow. The game is tight
right there. It doesn't put the game completely out of range, but it
gets awful tough with limited innings."
Third baseman Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers and second
baseman Rougned Odor had three hits, including a double and an RBI
triple. Center fielder Colby Rasmus hit his 13th homer of the season
in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Blue Jays.
Darvish (9-5) allowed five hits, three walks and one run while
equaling his season high with 12 strikeouts.
"It started on the mound," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Yu
was able to pitch around some traffic that he had on the bases and
make some pitches in some key situations. He kept us in the ballgame
until we could get something going offensively."
The Blue Jays (49-48) dropped their third consecutive game as play
resumed after the All-Star break.
Toronto entered the break after completing a 2-8 road trip, and
Texas went into the break by dropping all seven games during a
homestand.
"I hope it gives him confidence," Washington said of Arencibia's
home run. "He certainly didn't lack it when he arrived here from the
minor leagues. It was nice for him to come through right there. It
was big; it was huge."
Beltre broke a scoreless tie with his 14th homer of the season to
lead off the fifth inning against Dickey, who is 1-6 in his past
seven starts despite pitching well. The right-hander allowed six
hits and five runs while striking seven in seven innings.
Beltre's homer snapped a string of three straight games in which
Dickey had not allowed a home run after he had allowed at least one
homer in his eight previous starts.
The Rangers (39-57) broke open a 2-0 game on the second homer of the
season by Arencibia.
"I was kind of cruising along and, you know what, in that seventh
inning, I threw a couple of good knuckleballs that they got singles
on," Dickey said. "And then J.P. timed one up right, it was not one
of my better ones, and the next thing you know we're down five runs
to one of the best pitchers in the league.
"I wish I could say I knew exactly what was going on when that
happens. But the truth of the matter is it's kind of the nature or
the pitch and you have to be able to live with it."
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Arencibia's blast followed one-out singles by left fielder Jake
Smolinski and center fielder Leonys Martin.
"(The knuckleball) is not fun to hit, I can tell you that,"
Arencibia said. "He's got a special pitch. Obviously, I got to catch
it and I really didn't catch it. It's a little bit easier to try and
take swings at it, but I still think it's tougher to hit. (The home
run pitch) just knuckled into the barrel, thankfully, because the
other ones I swung and missed by a foot."
After Rasmus homered in the seventh, Toronto catcher Josh Thole
walked and a second baseman Munenori Kawasaki hit a ground-rule
double. After shortstop Jose Reyes, whose nine-game hitting streak
ended, was retired on a popup to shortstop, left-hander Neal Cotts
replaced Darvish and pitched the next 1 1/3 innings. Joakim Soria
worked the ninth.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead with two outs in the fifth inning after
Dickey hit Arencibia with a pitch. He scored on a triple to
right-center by Odor, aided by right fielder Jose Bautista's poor
route to the ball.
"When guys like Darvish are on, I don't care what your lineup looks
like they're going to cut you up pretty good," Gibbons said.
"They're going to limit your opportunities. We had a couple tonight
and we didn't cash in. We left a few guys (nine) on base."
NOTES: The Blue Jays returned RHP Chad Jenkins on option to Triple-A
Buffalo to make room for LHP Brad Mills, who was claimed off waivers
from Oakland on Thursday. Mills will be used in long relief. ... RHP
Deck McGuire was designated for assignment to make room on the
40-man roster for Mills. ... Rangers C Geovany Soto (right knee) was
behind the plate on Friday after being activated from the 60-day
disabled list. ... C J.P. Arencibia was recalled from Triple-A Round
Rock and played first base Friday. 1B Carlos Pena was designated for
assignment. ... 1B/OF Jim Adduci (left little finger fracture)
started a rehabilitation assignment Thursday at Round Rock and was
1-for-2 with a walk. ... RHP Marcus Stroman (4-2, 4.05 ERA) will
start Saturday for Toronto against Texas RHP Colby Lewis (6-6, 6.54
ERA).
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