Rangers Cruz to Win in Houston

10th Inning home run helps Rangers topple Astros.

Nelson Cruz homered with one out in the 10th inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Cruz's ninth homer of the season came off LaTroy Hawkins (1-2), who pitched the 10th inning.

Darren O Day (2-0) threw 1 2/3 perfect innings for the win. Frank Francisco, who was activated from the disabled list before the game, pitched the 10th to earn his 10th save in 10 tries.

Texas built a 5-0 lead before Houston tied it with three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Rookie left-hander Derek Holland made his first start after seven relief appearances. Holland shut the Astros out for five innings before Lance Berkman homered to chase him in the sixth.

Holland gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and was never in trouble until the sixth.

Fellow rookie Felipe Paulino started and allowed four runs and seven hits and two walks, striking out three. Paulino is now 0-4 with a 5.33 ERA in five starts.

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Texas got on the scoreboard with RBI singles by Michael Young and Andruw Jones in the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Elvis Andrus' hit the first pitch he saw so hard, left fielder Carlos Lee never moved as he watched it sail into the Crawford Boxes. It was Andrus' third home run of the season and gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead.

David Murphy's single chased Paulino for reliever Wesley Wright in the sixth inning. Jarrod Saltalamaccchia then hit Wright's first pitch out in left for a two-run homer that made it 5-0.

Houston closed it to 5-3 with Berkman's three-run homer in the sixth. It was Berkman's eighth homer of the season.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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