Nelson Cruz brought it to an end in the bottom of the 10th inning with a long home run into the left-field bleachers, but Michael Young was succinct in summing up Tuesday night at the Ballpark in Arlington.
“That game was all Cliff Lee,” Young said. “You can’t say enough about the job he did. Their starting pitcher threw the ball really well, but Cliff dealt for nine innings.”
The Rangers just needed 10 innings to pull it out as Cruz’s home run off Athletics reliever Michael Wuertz gave Texas a 3-1 victory before 28,124 fans at the Ballpark. The Rangers have now won nine of 12 games since the All-Star break.
“That one was great, considering the way we were playing and the way Cliff is throwing the ball,” Cruz said. “He didn’t get the win, but we got on top — that’s the most important thing.”
Lee didn’t get the victory. Closer Neftali Feliz picked it up with a scoreless 10th, but Lee still had a night to remember in allowing just one unearned run on five hits over nine innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out 13.