The Rangers got an early lead off Blue Jays starter David Price, hit two home runs and got four innings of one-run ball from three relievers.
If there's a blueprint for winning a series, this is also it. For Game 2 on Friday (12:30 p.m. ET, MLB Network), the Rangers will hand the ball to their ace -- Cole Hamels. That's both symbolic and substantive.
His arrival from the Phillies at the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline marked the start of the Texas turnaround and sent a message to the players that Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was all in for 2015.