Romero strong as Blue Jays down Rangers

Toronto, ON – Ricky Romero struck out six over eight strong innings to remain unbeaten as the Blue Jays defeated the Rangers, 11-5, in the finale of a three-game set at Rogers Centre on Wednesday.

Romero (4-0) surrendered five runs on six hits and three walks, Yunel Escobar added three hits, including a three-run triple, and Edwin Encarnacion belted a three-run blast for the Jays, who have won four of their last five.

"That's a tough team, a tough lineup," said Romero about the Rangers. "I thought I did a pretty good job at throwing strikes and keeping them off balance."

Matt Harrison (3-2) had a forgettable outing, yielding eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 3 1/3 innings of work. Elvis Andrus had two hits and knocked in two runs, while Brandon Snyder hit his first major league home run.

The Rangers have now dropped their last two series and lost consecutive games for the first time all season.

"He just couldn't get his changeup working, which is his bread and butter," said Rangers manager Ron Washington about Harrison. "And when he left the ball up, you have to give the Toronto Blue Jays' hitters credit, they made us pay for it."

Texas struck first with two outs in the top of the second as Snyder launched a home run to straightaway center field, giving the Rangers an early 1-0 lead.

After Rajai Davis reached on fielder's choice in the third, Kelly Johnson put the Jays on top, belting a fastball over the wall in right for his sixth home run of the season and a 2-1 Toronto lead.

The Jays blew the game open with a six-run fourth as Ben Francisco worked a leadoff walk and, after Brett Lawrie struck out, Eric Thames ripped a double into the right-field corner, putting runners on second and third with one out.

J.P. Arencibia then followed with a two-run double off the wall in left before a single and a walk loaded the bases for Escobar, who quickly cleared them with a triple into the right-field gap.

Jose Bautista capped the scoring in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Escobar to make it an 8-1 contest.

Romero ran into some trouble in the fifth, issuing three straight walks to start the frame before serving up a two-run double to Andrus.

Michael Young's flare into shallow right then made it 8-4 before Andrus came around to score on a Mike Napoli sacrifice fly to bring the Rangers within three.

But Toronto extended its lead in the sixth as Encarnacion lifted a two-out, three-run blast into the seats in left field, giving the Jays an 11-5 edge.

Game Notes

Romero is now 7-0 in 11 home starts dating back to July 16 of last season...The Rangers had won a team record six straight series to start the season before dropping two straight...The Rangers were without Josh Hamilton (back) for the third straight game while Adrian Beltre (leg) missed his second straight contest.