Walks A Problem For Rangers in Loss: Blue Jays 7 Rangers 4

Walks have been the bane of the Rangers’ existence for a long time. With Rich Harden, a new Ranger but veteran hurler on the Ballpark mound Wednesday night, nothing was different.

Harden used his change-up to strike out eight Blue Jays in 3 2/3 innings. But despite the strikeouts, he walked five. Both his strikeouts and his walks, elevated his pitch total beyond a number the Rangers probably wanted to see, especially for a pitcher with a history of injury problems.

Harden rung up seven of the first 12 hitters he faced, including all three batters in the second inning. Lyle Overbay and John Buck went down swinging, while a foul tip into the glove of catcher Taylor Teagarden put away Edwin Encarnacion. Teagarden and Jarrod Saltamacchia, Monday’s hero, will platoon at catcher to start the season.

Known for having “bad” innings, Harden lost his command in the fourth, hitting the leadoff batter of the inning Vernon Wells and throwing wide ones to Overbay. Wells, who grew up in Arlington, blasted two homers Wednesday – a two-run shot off Dustin Nippert following a walk to Adam Lind in the fifth and a solo shot against the ledger of Darren Oliver in the ninth. After Buck struck out, Encarnacion reached on a ball that bounced off Michael Young’s glove at third. Two batters later and with the bases filled, ninth-place hitter Travis Snider and Jose Bautista took back-to-back free passes to score Toronto’s second and third runs. The first run came on a third inning Alex Gonzalez long ball that was likely aided by the wind.

Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz connected on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 3-3 and forget about Harden’s troubles. No question the highlight of the night. But Harden’s reliever, Nippert, couldn’t handle the Blue Jays either and allowed four walks and three runs to cross the plate in 2 2/3 innings. On the positive side, Young walked and scored in the first thanks to singles by Guerrero and Cruz.

The Rangers scored a run in the eighth off an Elvis Andrus single that was mishandled by the right fielder and shortstop for a double error. Andrus advanced to second and Teagarden to third on the play. Teagarden, who got on base via a walk, scored on a Julio Borbon RBI groundout. .