General manager Jon Daniels said he wanted a different voice for the pitching staff. After allowing eight runs Friday, the staff ERA rose to 5.27, the worst in the AL by more than half a run. The Rangers also used their 13th different starter of the season on Friday as Tommy Hunter became the sixth pitcher to make his first major league start this season. The Rangers' bullpen has been one of the most overworked in history; it is on pace for 593 innings, only eight shy of the major league record set by the Rangers in 2003.

"We felt that we needed to try a different direction with the pitching staff, a different voice, a different message," Daniels told the Dallas Morning News. "We looked at what were the steps we could take to best put our pitchers in a position to succeed. We feel the environment most conducive to doing that would require new leadership in that department."

Recently, the pitching troubles had gotten worse. The Rangers had a 6.63 ERA in July, the fourth-highest ERA in a single full month in club history.

RANGERS 9, BLUE JAYS 8: Rookie outfielders Brandon Boggs and David Murphy teamed up late in the game to lead the Rangers to their second come-from-behind walk-off win in the last week. The Rangers trailed 6-0 early in the game, then rallied to tie it on a two-run, bases-loaded single by Murphy in the sixth. Boggs, who entered the game in the seventh, threw out David Eckstein at home to keep the score tied at the end of the eighth. After LHP C.J. Wilson allowed a pair of ninth-inning runs, but the top-ranked offense in the AL saved him with three runs in the bottom of the inning. With one out, pinch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked and SS Michael Young singled. Boggs followed with a game-tying double off the wall in left center. When the Blue Jays intentionally walked OF Marlon Byrd to try and set up a double-play situation, Murphy singled past third to drive home the winning run.