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Russell Martin is congratulated by Darwin Barney and Kevin Pillar after hitting a game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

The letter D has always held a special status in the Darwin Barney family.

Growing up in Portland, Ore., his parents – Doreen and David – christened each of their five children with first names that also begin with that letter: Doug, David, Deanna, Darwin and Darilyn.

Darwin Barney is not sure why. A habit, he guesses.

He had an uncle named Darwon and his parents loved everything about the name, except for the spelling.

So when it came time to name their fourth child, they borrowed the uncle's name only changing the "o" to an "i."

And that was the start of a lifelong pattern for Barney who, after meeting new people, would invariably be asked if he was named after Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who espoused the theory of evolution.

Nothing wrong with that, Barney says, except for the fact that he was raised in a Mormon household where the other Darwin's theories didn't exactly fly.

These days, as a backup infielder with the Toronto Blue Jays, D is for the impeccable defensive prowess that Barney brings to the American League team.

Barney has also been swinging a surprisingly effective bat for the Blue Jays over the first five weeks of the season, to the point where manager John Gibbons said the 30-year-old will start to challenge Ryan Goins for more playing time at second base.

After getting the start in Tuesday's game, Barney was back on the bench for Game 3 of Toronto's four-game set Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre.

And the Blue Jays (14-15) continue to find ways to win in spite of their offensive shortcomings, pulling out a tight 4-3 victory over the Rangers (15-13) to take a 2-1 series lead.

And for the second straight night, Toronto did it in walk-off fashion, with Russell Martin, who has been in deep hitting funk all season, providing the heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

With one out and Texas reliever Tony Barnette on the mound, Martin came to bat with the bases loaded and the catcher stroked a hit over the head of Texas right fielder Nomar Mazara to drive home the winning run. Martin was mobbed by his teammates on the infield after his dramatic hit, which produced his fifth run batted in this season.

"About time I talked to you guys after doing something good," a visibly relieved Martin said after the game.

Martin came into the game hitting a lowly .149 but with his two hits on Wednesday, including his big game winner, the veteran catcher hopes his luck is starting to turn.

"That's what gets your mojo going, those big situations," Martin said. "Whether you succeed or you don't, it's fun to be in those situations. And today, you can't have a more favourable situation. You have one out, a guy on third base, you don't really need to get a hit. It takes away a little bit of pressure and I was just thinking of trying to drive the ball somehow."

A former Gold Glove winner for his exceptional defensive work at second base with the Chicago Cubs in 2012, Barney has performed well in the limited playing time he has received this season.

In 13 games – 12 of them starts – Barney has been a solid defender at both third and second base and is hitting .281. Goins, who is equally gifted with the glove, went into Wednesday's game hitting .160 in 26 games.

With the Blue Jays looking for any means to try to kick-start a sputtering offence that was supposed to be the team's strong suit this season, it makes sense for Barney to start to see more playing time – not that that will alter how he goes about his preparations.

"Obviously my job is to make plays and turn the lineup over," Barney said during an interview in the Blue Jays dugout before Wednesday's game. "Fortunately I've played okay and got the job done and hopefully we continue to win more ballgames. That's the goal in the end, whatever it takes to win games. If that means I get to play a little bit, that's fine."

Barney was a multisport kid growing up and, along with baseball, also drew the interest of several U.S. colleges in soccer. There was one problem with that, Barney said.

"It was my first love, but I'm not a real fan of doing that much running," he said.

He also played football for a period but lost his desire to continue in that sport when one of his closest friends was paralyzed from the neck down after taking a hit in a game.

"That was it," Barney said. "I decided on the spot I wasn't going to play football again."

The Rangers struck for two quick runs off three hits off a rocky Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez in the top of the first inning. Jose Bautista singled home Michael Saunders in the bottom of the frame to cut the lead to 2-1.

But Texas continued to own Sanchez, punching out three more hits in the second inning that produced another Texas run. The young right-hander settled down after that and allowed only one more hit over the next five innings.

And with Bautista on at first base after drawing a two-out walk in the sixth, Edwin Encarnacion deposited a sky-high hit for the Blue Jays that just tucked in beside the left-field foul pole for a home run that knotted the score 3-3. It was Encarnacion's fourth homer of the season.

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