Taiwan's Wang Chien-ming lifts Toronto Blue Jays with strong start
Taiwanese hurler Wang Chien-ming, signed by Toronto this month to bolster a banged-up pitching staff, picked up his first Major League Baseball win in more than a year on Sunday.
Wang gave up seven hits in seven scoreless innings, struck out five and walked two. He was backed by three Toronto home runs in a 7-2 victory that completed the Blue Jays’ four-game series sweep of the Rangers.
Adam Lind hit a three-run homer, JP Arencibia added a two-run shot and Colby Rasmus also went deep for Toronto, who have won five in a row.
The Rangers, meanwhile, have lost six straight for the first time since April of 2010.
Wang, in his second start of the year, stranded a runner in scoring position in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
The right-hander from Taiwan won 55 games over five years for the New York Yankees from 2005 before injuries disrupted his career.
He missed the 2010 season while recovering from shoulder surgery and pitched for the Washington Nationals for two years, going 6-6 with a 4.94 earned-run average in 21 games, until becoming a free agent.
Two strong outings for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic had helped him secure a minor league deal with the Yankees, but he opted out of that to sign with the Blue Jays earlier this month.
“He has given us a big boost, and he’s pitching great,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Wang, who had last been credited with a major league win with the Nationals last June.
“This is his opportunity, and he’s taking advantage of it,” Gibbons said. “He’s strong, he’s very confident and he’s had a lot of success in the big leagues.”
