Palmeiro Records In Texas Win

While the Texas Rangers build momentum heading into the postseason, the Toronto Blue Jays might be letting their playoff hopes slip away.

Rafael Palmeiro set a team record with his 39th RBI of the month and Texas sent Toronto to its ninth straight home loss, 4-2 Sunday.

The AL West-leading Rangers swept the three-game series and won their fourth straight overall. Texas (79-52) moved 27 games over .500 for the first time in club history.

Toronto, which fell to four games back in the AL wild-card race, is in the midst of its second-worst home losing streak ever. The 1977 expansion Blue Jays dropped 11 in a row at Exhibition Stadium.

"We need to get going," Toronto starter Roy Halladay said. "It's weird that we're not winning at home."

Shannon Stewart extended his hitting streak to 26 games with a single in the first inning for Toronto.

Texas scored three runs in the fourth inning on Palmeiro's run-scoring single and Todd Zeile's two-run homer, his 18th. Palmeiro broke the Rangers record of 38 RBIs in a month, set by Juan Gonzalez in July 1996.

"We're not concentrating on individual accomplishments, we just want to keep winning," Palmeiro said.

John Brkett (5-7) allowed one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 36th save, giving up Jacob Brumfield's sacrifice fly.

Halladay (8-6) gave up three runs on eight hits in 6 2-3 innings.

"Other than the homer I thought I threw pretty good," Halladay said.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but scored just one run on Carlos Delgado's RBI single. Burkett struck out Tony Batista for the first out and got Willie Greene to hit into a double play.

"I just decided I was going have to get out of it with my curve ball, because I didn't have command of my fastball," said Burkett, who struck out Batista on a 3-2 curveball. "To get out of it allowing just one run was a big key."

Royce Clayton's RBI single in the eighth made it 4-1 for the Rangers, who have won 11 of 13.

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