Delgado's HRs Dump Rangers

It's safe to say that Carlos Delgado likes to hit at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Delgado had three home runs, including a tiebreaking solo shot off Jeff Zimmerman in the eighth inning, as the Blue Jays rallied for a 5-4 victory Friday night over the Texas Rangers.

Delgado had the second three-homer game of his career, the other coming last August at The Ballpark. He has 11 career home runs at the Rangers' home stadium, second all-time behind Jose Canseco's 12.

Zimmerman came on to get the final out in the seventh before running into trouble in the eighth with a 4-3 lead. Shawn Green led off the inning with his 32nd home run of the year before Delgado hit his third homer of the game, a shot into the right-field seats.

"The ball must have looked like a beachball to him tonight," said Blue Jays closer Billy Koch, who pitched the ninth for his 23rd save. "With the type of hitters we've got, we're always in the ballgame."

Zimmerman (9-1) suffered his first major league loss. He had won his first nine decisions, setting a record for the most consecutive wins in relief to start a career.

"He's had a great season, but you can't be perfect every night," Koch said. "You look at his numbers and say it's got to be a misprint."

Zimmerman admitted that all his good fortune finally caught up with him.

"I've pitched like this all year," Zimmerman said. "The difference is that when I'd make a bad pitch, got away with it. Tonight, I made mistakes and paid for it."

The Rangers had their four-game winning streak snapped. Texas is 17-4 since the All-Star break.

"We knew these guys were good," Delgado said. "To beat them here, you've got to bring your "A" game. If we want to get to the playoffs, this is the kind of team we have to beat."

Lee Stevens hit his 18th homer leading off the seventh to put Texas in front 4-3.

Chris Carpenter (8-5) allowed four runs and nine hits over seven innings in winning his fifth straight decision. He struck out eight and walked one.

Rafael Palmeiro homered and drove in three runs for the Rangers.

Texas took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ivan Rodriguez singled, Rusty Greer walked and Palmeiro hit an RBI single. Toronto tied it in the second on Delgado's first homer.

The Rangers went in front 3-1 in the fourth when Juan Gonzalez reached first on a fielding error by first baseman David Segui. Palmeiro followed with his 27th homer, a drive that barely cleared the wall in right.

In the seventh, Delgado's second homer of the night pulled the Blue Jays within 3-2 and knocked out Helling.

Tony Fernandez greeted reliever Mike Venafro with a double. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored when shortstop Royce Clayton bobbled a two-out grounder by Homer Bush for an error to tie it at 3.

Helling allowed two runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out one and walked three.

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