TORONTO (AP) -- A tumultuous night for the Toronto Blue Jays

began with Shea Hillenbrand criticizing the club and ended with his

dismissal.

Hillenbrand was cut by Toronto during a 5-4 loss to the Texas

Rangers on Wednesday night, when the designated hitter and corner

infielder refused to sit in the dugout after he was chastised in a

team meeting.

Hours before, Hillenbrand criticized the organization and said

he expected to be traded. He was upset because he wasn't in the

starting lineup for the second consecutive game and nobody in

Toronto's front office congratulated him on adopting a baby girl

last weekend.

Blue Jays pitcher Casey Janssen called the whole saga "crazy."

Second-string catcher Gregg Zaun said he didn't see it coming. And

team leader Vernon Wells said Hillenbrand took the news hard.

"Normally, you see Shea with a smile on his face and joking

around," said Wells, who talked to Hillenbrand before he left the

clubhouse. "It was hard for a lot of us to take. It's just

something you don't see that often. I know it hit me hard."

Kevin Millwood earned his 10th win and Gary Matthews Jr. hit a

go-ahead double in a four-run seventh inning for Texas.

The Blue Jays held a meeting before the game. Hillenbrand,

reached by The Toronto Star during the game, said manager John

Gibbons admonished him in front of the team.

"Gibby called a team meeting and then he stood up and reamed me

out in front of my teammates," Hillenbrand told the newspaper.

"I'm very disappointed about what he did and I find it very

unprofessional."

Hillenbrand was designated for assignment during the game and

was not in the locker room afterward.

"It will do wonders for the clubhouse," Gibbons said.

General manager J.P. Ricciardi cited irrevocable differences and

said: "His version of events are different from ours."

Hillenbrand was batting .301 with 12 homers, 15 doubles and 39

RBI. The Blue Jays have 10 days to trade, release or send him

outright to the minors.

Wells said the players called the meeting, but Gibbons had

something to say.

Frank Catalanotto called the whole scenario "weird."

"We'll find a way to get through it," said Catalanotto, whose

team hosts the second-place New York Yankees in an important

four-game series starting Thursday.

Mark DeRosa hit a tying homer for the Rangers, who rallied from

a 3-1 deficit. Akinori Otsuka pitched the ninth for his 20 save in

22 chances.

"This win will be good for the morale of the team," Matthews

said.

Texas came back from a 2-0 deficit Tuesday night with five runs

in the eighth inning, ending an offensive slump. They scored just

four runs in their previous four games.

"The last two games have been very similar," Texas manager

Buck Showalter said. "To come here and take two of three is

great."

Lyle Overbay homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost two

straight.

Millwood (10-5) allowed three runs and six hits in seven

innings, striking out five and walking none. Vicente Padilla also

got his 10th win for Texas on Tuesday.

Wells cut it to 5-4 with an RBI double off Francisco Cordero in

the eighth. Overbay followed with an infield single, but Cordero

escaped the jam by getting Zaun on a fly to center.

Gerald Laird doubled in the third and scored on an error by Blue

Jays second baseman Aaron Hill.

Reed Johnson's two-run double in the fifth gave Toronto a 3-1

lead.

The Rangers rallied in the seventh on DeRosa's two-run homer off

Janssen (6-9) and Matthews' two-run double off Justin Speier.

Janssen allowed five runs -- four earned -- and six hits in 6 2/3

innings. He's winless in his last four starts.

"We just have to stick together as a team," Janssen said.

"It's crazy."Game notes
Toronto 3B Troy Glaus missed his third straight game with a

sore right knee. Gibbons hopes Glaus will play Thursday against the

New York Yankees. The Blue Jays are also missing RF Alex Rios, who

could be sidelined at least another week with an infection in his

left leg.