MLB

Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers

· Major League Baseball
Toronto Blue Jays
39-33, 20-20 Away
Final
2 - 4
Texas Rangers
43-27, 23-13 Home

Jung, Heim hit back-to-back homers, García shines on defense as Rangers beat Jays 4-2

The Texas right fielder then helped get the offense going before two more stellar defensive plays.

Josh Jung and Jonah Heim hit back-to-back homers in the second inning, with Jung's go-ahead shot coming after García walked, and the Rangers beat the Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.

Corey Seager also homered, his 10th on a solo shot in the seventh, as the AL West-leading Rangers won for just the third time in 10 games.

“It’s a good win for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s kind of been a little bumpy here lately.”

Pitching and defense combined with the long ball helped smooth things out a little bit.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate trying to score from second on Daulton Varsho’s single — the fourth hit among the Blue Jays’ first five batters, including Guerrero’s RBI single for a 1-0 lead.

“I think that kind of helps change the momentum a little bit,” starter Dane Dunning said. “Just from them getting hot to start and rattling off hits and you cut (off) that rally.”

García made a leaping catch on the warning track on a liner from George Springer to end the fifth, then opened the sixth with a Whit Merrifield.

The 2021 All-Star from Cuba also had two singles.

“It's good to see Adolis have a game like that,” Bochy said.

The rookie Jung's two-run homer put the Rangers in front in the second, and Heim made it 3-1 seven pitches later off Trevor Richards in a bullpen game for Toronto.

Jung, the AL rookie leader with 42 RBI, had another two-run shot to the opposite field in right overturned on review in the fourth when replay showed the ball barely clearing the fence just outside the foul pole.

Dunning (6-1) allowed just two more hits after the four in the first. The right-hander gave up two runs, including Varsho's 12th home run, while striking out three and walking one in six innings.

Josh Sborz pitched two scoreless innings, and Will Smith pitched around two singles in the ninth and two more hard-hit balls for his 12th save.

“If you look at some of the balls we put in play today, not just in the ninth inning, I think overall, some loud outs,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “The bats are there, and we're getting traffic.”

Richards (0-1) retired the first three hitters in the reliever's second start of the season, and then the next six after Heim's homer before leaving after García's leadoff single in the fourth.

“Trev was yanking his heater a little bit and left some balls in the middle,” Schneider said. “They can score in a hurry. If you look past the two homers, did a fairly good job.”

BACK IN THE SWING

Dunning had allowed at least three runs in three consecutive starts after not allowing more than two in his first four. The 28-year-old, who was on the paternity list in late May for the birth of his first child, spent the first month in the bullpen.

“My routine was completely out of whack, just trying to catch up sleep a little bit,” Dunning said. “Just felt off. Was able to get my routine back in place, especially from the last start to this start.”

SHORT HOPS

Guerrero drew a 14-pitch walk off Dunning with two outs in the sixth before Varsho was retired for the first time on a flyout to left. ... Texas backup C Sandy León accepted a minor league assignment and was headed for Triple-A Round Rock three days after being designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Texas RHP Jon Gray (6-2, 2.32 ERA) returns in the series finale after skipping a start because of a blister. Gray is 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA in his past six starts. He is third in the AL in ERA. Toronto RHP Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.02) allowed a season-high 11 hits and eight runs in three innings in an 11-6 loss to Baltimore in his previous start.

How can I watch Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers?
  • TV Channel: Blue Jays at Rangers 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Rangers: 63.0%
Blue Jays: 37.0%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Espinal struck out swinging.
9th Inning Espinal hit for Biggio
9th Inning Jansen lined out to center, Guerrero Jr. to third.
9th Inning Chapman singled to left, Guerrero Jr. to second.
9th Inning Kirk lined out to left.
9th Inning Kirk hit for Varsho

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tex.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTEX
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
14 Ground Balls 6
4 Strikeouts 6
2 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
9 Hits 8
0 Stolen Bases 0
1 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
2 Runs 4
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
34 At Bats 31
1 Home Runs 3
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
10 Runners Left On Base 13
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 0
16 Fly Balls 19
0 Caught Stealing 1
120 Pitches 165
0 Games Started 0
2 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
13 Total Bases 17
35 Plate Appearances 35
162.0 Projected Home Runs 486.0
2 Extra Base Hits 3
3.4 Runs Created 5.2
.265 Batting Average .258
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.382 Slugging Percentage .548
.147 Secondary Average .387
.286 On Base Percentage .343
.668 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .891
0.9 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.3
3.5 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 5.6
22.0 Batter Rating 33.0
34.0 At Bats Per Home Run 10.3
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.43 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.71
.118 Isolated Power .290
0.25 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.67
.029 Walks Per Plate Appearance .114
-.118 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .129
4.0 Runs Produced 8.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.2
78.0 MLB Rating 85.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Globe Life Field

Location: Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 39,383 | Capacity:

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6
Full Standings