TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays' victory Saturday might prove to be costly.
Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado left after the fifth inning of Saturday's 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers with an irritated right ribcage and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
"He was hurting pretty good," Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said.
Delgado grimaced after swinging his bat on a groundout in the fifth inning. Dave Berg replaced him at first to start the sixth.
Tosca said the ribcage has bothered Delgado sporadically.
"Today was the first day that it really grabbed him," Tosca said.
The Blue Jays already are missing regulars Frank Catalanotto (right groin), Orlando Hudson (strained left hamstring), Kevin Cash (bruised ribcage) and Chris Woodward (straight right hamstring).
"With the other guys that we have down, it's going to be a big blow," Tosca said.
Delgado was second in AL MVP voting last year after hitting .302 with 42 homers and a major league-leading 145 RBI. He's hitting .227 with eight home runs and 32 RBI this season.
"You can't even say how big of a loss it would be. He's our leader," Toronto third baseman Eric Hinske said. "I don't know how long he's going to be out, or what the prognosis is, but that's going to hurt us big time."
Toronto starter Miguel Batista (3-4) struck out a season-high seven in eight innings. Batista allowed two runs, five hits and three walks, taking a shutout into the seventh before allowing Laynce Nix's RBI grounder and a run-scoring wild pitch, which pulled Texas to 3-2. Batista was coming off a 7-2 loss to Boston on May 23 in which he gave up five runs in three innings.
"We'll keep our fingers crossed about Delgado," Batista said. "He's a very strong guy. You don't count him out easily. He wants to play, especially now that he's playing better."
Hinske, who went 2-for-4 and raised his average to .216, hit a two-run single in the seventh off Erasmo Ramirez for a 5-2 lead. Reed Johnson added a solo homer in the eighth off Ramirez.
The Rangers have lost a season-high four straight and have scored in just three of their last 36 innings.
"We can't seem to catch a break," Texas manager Buck Showalter said. "We got within a run, but the tack-on runs they had hurt us. The Hinske single really hurt us."
Juan Dominguez (0-1), recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma on Friday, allowed three runs and eight his in 5 1/3 innings.
"I'm sure he had a lot of anxiety," Showalter said. "He gave us a chance to win, but the walks and hit by pitches didn't help. He's a work in progress."
Johnson's RBI grounder in the fourth and Dominguez's run-scoring wild pitch in the sixth made it 3-0. Toronto scored in the seventh after reliever Frank Francisco walked Gregg Zaun, hit Josh Phelps with a pitch and walked Alexis Rios, loading the bases.
Notes
- Delgado left Monday's game against Anaheim after the third inning with a jammed right knee.
- Berg ended an 0-for-12 slump with a single in the seventh.
- The Rangers have lost five of six.
- Texas is 1-4 on its 11-game trip.
The Associated Press News Service
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