Michael Young went 3-for-5 with five RBIs Sunday in Toronto, a performance that included two runs scored and his first home run since early May.
Texas dropped each of the first three contests in a four-game series against the Yankees last week before avoiding a sweep in Thursday’s finale, then took two out of three against the Blue Jays to wrap up a 3-4 East coast road swing.
Recent acquisition Ryan Dempster pitched into the seventh inning Monday in New York, but he was done in by the Yankees’ five-run bottom of the third — including Nick Swisher’s line-drive grand slam to right — as part of an 8-2 loss.
Swisher homered again Tuesday to back Hiroki Kuroda’s complete-game 3-0 shutout over the Rangers, and although Josh Hamilton went deep twice for Texas on Wednesday, he represented the team’s lone offensive output in a 3-2 defeat.
Derek Holland was supported by two early Texas runs and tossed five scoreless frames before yielding five runs in the sixth, but the Rangers pulled away with runs in each of the final four innings Thursday afternoon to secure a 10-6 victory and avoid a series sweep.
Prior to the club’s trip to Toronto, native Canadian Ryan Dempster was placed on the restricted list due to passport issues, and outfielder Leonys Martin was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to replace him on the active roster.
The Blue Jays took Friday’s opener, 3-2, despite a stellar 10-strikeout game from Texas starter Yu Darvish, whose only blemishes were a two-run homer by Edwin Encarnacion in the first inning and an RBI single by Rajai Davis in the fifth.
Right-hander Roy Oswalt made a spot start in place of Dempster on Saturday, and he combined with five relievers to limit Toronto’s offense while Nelson Cruz slugged a two-run homer off Carlos Villanueva in the top of the fifth, providing the difference in a 2-1 Rangers win at Rogers Centre.
Sunday’s rubber game saw the Texas lineup hammer 19 hits in support of lefty Matt Harrison, who allowed just two hits across eight innings of work as he and the Rangers cruised to a series-clinching 11-2 victory.
Nathan Sets Team Record for Consecutive Saves
With his 24th save of the year Saturday in Toronto, closer Joe Nathan also converted his 22nd straight save opportunity to establish a new franchise mark in that category, passing Francisco Cordero’s single-season record of 21 in a row set in 2004.
Since his last (and only) blown save on Apr. 14 versus Seattle, Nathan has made 43 appearances and posted a 2-1 record with an earned run average of 2.08, striking out 51 batters while issuing just eight walks over that span.
In a total of 47 games so far this season, Nathan has a 2.61 ERA and a career-best strikeout-to-walk rate of 7.38.
Catcher Hill Signed to Minor-League Deal
The Rangers agreed to a minor-league contract with veteran catcher Koyie Hill last Tuesday and assigned the 33-year-old to Triple-A Round Rock.
Already this season, Hill has spent time in the Cardinals, Reds, Cubs and Nationals organizations, seeing his only big-league action with Chicago earlier this summer and, most recently, getting released by Washington on Aug. 3.
A lifetime .210 batter across parts of nine seasons, Hill is expected to provide depth behind the plate while Mike Napoli rehabilitates a strained quad muscle and Triple-A catcher Dusty Brown recovers from surgery.
Nate's Notes 
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