22-20 - Feelin' fine at nine: Rua and Perez lead Rangers to sweep

The Rangers won their ninth straight ballgame today 8-4. The Rangers also trailed in this game 2-0 to the Phillies before rallying for eight unanswered runs. The big inning for Texas ended up being the fifth inning as the Phillies turned a 1-0 game into a 2-0 game in the top of the frame after a solo homer by Maikel Franco.

In the bottom of the inning, with two outs and Shin-Soo Choo on first base via a walk, the Rangers got into the Philadelphia bullpen and feasted. Nomar Mazara worked a walk, cleanup hitter Robinson Chirinos singled in Choo to make it 2-1 before Rougned Odor took a 3-0 pitch the other way to tie the game.

With two outs, two on, and a 2-2 game, Ryan Rua came up against a left-hander and promptly served a pitch just over the wall in right field to make it 5-2. It was a big moment for Rua who has struggled against left-handers this season and hitting left-handers is the reason he's on the roster as a four-corners bench bat.

For the day,  Rua went 2-for-2 with two walks, three RBI, and a run scored in his best game of the season. With five runs in the fifth, the Rangers were on their way to another win.

The winning streak is now the longest for Texas since winning 12 straight in 2011. Texas also completely swept their eight-game homestand to move to 16-8 at The Ballpark.

Player of the Game: Martin Perez had arguably his best outing since returning from TJS a few years back. Perez finished with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 8 K, 0 BB. Besides a couple of hard hit balls in the top of the fifth, Perez was in charge all afternoon and the eight strikeouts tied his career high.

Up Next: The Rangers open a series on the road against the Tigers going for a tenth straight win with Nick Martinez on the mound opposite Detroit's LHP Daniel Norris. First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 6:10 pm CT.