Though he eventually pinch-hit, Hamilton did not start Wednesday's game at Toronto after starting the first 13 games of the season. He had been struggling with his timing since the start of the regular season, and the day off was intended to allow him a mental break as well as to allow him to rest some bruised ribs.

Hamilton, who hit 32 homers last season, had tried to eliminate the "toe-tap" trigger on his swing during spring training, but shortly after the season started, he decided he felt more comfortable with his old mechanics.

What resulted was a stretch of 10 strikeouts in 17 at-bats. He also entered Thursday's game in a 1-for-16 slump. The transition back to the old mechanism had thrown off Hamilton's timing, and he had been lunging at pitches, particularly the first pitch of at-bats.

He entered Thursday having swung at the first pitch 37 times in 58 plate appearances.

On Thursday, he showed more patience, working the count to 3-and-1 in his first at-bat before lining out to right. In his second at-bat, he worked the count to 2-and-0 and then lined a ball over the left field fence.

BLUE JAYS 5, RANGERS 2: RHP Kevin Millwood allowed three home runs in seven innings and failed to qualify for a quality start for the first time this season. Millwood had allowed only one home run in his first three starts, but he gave up second-inning shots to Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay on Thursday. After the Rangers cut the margin to 2-1 on a Josh Hamilton homer, Millwood allowed a two-run homer to Alex Rios in the fifth. This was Millwood's first start on four days' rest. He has gone at least seven innings in all four of his starts.