Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays
· Major League Baseball9 - 2
Seager homers and drives in 3, Rangers rout Blue Jays 9-2 to complete 4-game sweep
Robbie Grossman reached base four times and drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk as the Rangers (82-64) won their sixth straight, moving 2 1/2 games ahead of the Blue Jays in the AL wild-card race.
“Whenever you can sweep a team, it’s great, especially when it’s the team we’re fighting with for a wild card spot,” Heim said. “It’s great morale. I think everybody is leaving here confident.”
Texas guaranteed its first winning season since going 95-67 in 2016 and swept a four-game series for the first time since Sept. 2019 at Baltimore. The Rangers outscored Toronto 35-9 over the four games.
“We’ve been on the other end so it’s good to come in here and play really good, crisp baseball,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.
Toronto (80-67) is 1 1/2 games behind Seattle, the third AL wild card. Tampa Bay is in the top wild-card spot.
“This series we played terrible, really, in all facets,” Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman said. “Our pitching staff gave up a lot of runs and we didn’t score many runs.”
Seager opened the scoring with a solo homer off Gausman in the first. Seager went 9 for 17 with 5 RBI, four doubles and three walks in the series.
After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer off Texas right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in the bottom half, Seager restored the Rangers’ lead with a two-out, two-run double in the second.
“He has set the tone in so many games,” Bochy said of Seager. “Just an elite hitter. It’s really amazing, when you look at the number of at-bats, what he’s done.”
Heim made it 4-2 with a two-out homer in the third. Heim is the fourth Rangers player to reach 85 RBI this season, joining Seager, Marcus Semien, and Adolis García.
Eovaldi allowed two runs and three hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out three.
Left-hander Cody Bradford (4-1) pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings in relief.
“You can’t say enough about the job he did,” Bochy said. “That’s a tough lineup to get through, a lot of right-handed bats. He made some great pitches.”
Gausman (11-9) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out five, raising his AL-leading total to 222, but matched a career-worst with six walks.
Rangers right-hander José Leclerc struck out Guerrero to strand runners at first and second in the seventh.
Texas immediately added to its lead in the eighth. Semien hit an RBI double off Trevor Richards and Nathaniel Lowe chased Richards with a two-run single to put the Rangers up 7-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: Texas DH Mitch Garver left after fouling a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning. Garver finished his at-bat but flied out to leave the bases loaded. X-rays did not reveal a fracture. Bochy said Garver is day-to-day. ... Bochy said INF Josh Jung (fractured left thumb) is expected to return Monday for the opener of a home series against Boston.
Blue Jays: 3B Matt Chapman was activated off the 10-day injured list before the game. Chapman hadn’t played since Aug. 27 because of a sprained right middle finger. He batted sixth and went 0 for 3 with a walk.
ROSTER MOVES
To make room for Chapman, Toronto optioned OF Nathan Lukes to Triple-A Buffalo.
COREY’S CORNER
Seager had three hits for the 16th time. … Seager’s double was his AL-leading 40th. He’s the seventh player in Rangers history with 30 home runs and 40 doubles in a season. The last to do it was Josh Hamilton in 2010. … Seager leads the AL in batting average (.345), slugging percentage (.665) and OPS (1.071).
HEIM TIME
Heim leads major league catchers with 81 RBI.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Jon Gray (8-7, 3.96 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday as Texas begins a three-game series at Cleveland. RHP Lucas Giolito (7-13, 4.89) is scheduled to start for the Guardians.
Blue Jays: RHP José Berríos (10-10, 3.63 ERA) is expected to start Friday as Toronto opens a three-game series against Boston. RHP Brayan Bello (12-8, 3.68) is scheduled for the Red Sox.
How can I watch Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays?
- TV Channel: Rangers at Blue Jays 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
9th Inning | Varsho grounded out to first. | |
9th Inning | Kirk grounded out to second. | |
9th Inning | Merrifield struck out swinging. | |
9th Inning | Hernández relieved W. Smith | |
9th Inning | Ornelas at shortstop. | |
9th Inning | Lowe grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Ornelas out at second. |
Statistics
TEX | TOR | |
---|---|---|
1 | Games Played | 1 |
1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
1 | Hit By Pitch | 0 |
15 | Ground Balls | 10 |
9 | Strikeouts | 11 |
9 | Runs Batted In | 2 |
1 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
11 | Hits | 4 |
1 | Stolen Bases | 0 |
10 | Walks | 5 |
0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
9 | Runs | 2 |
2 | Ground Into Double Play | 0 |
1 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
35 | At Bats | 31 |
2 | Home Runs | 1 |
0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
23 | Runners Left On Base | 14 |
0 | Triples | 0 |
1 | Game Winning RBIs | 0 |
1 | Intentional Walks | 0 |
3 | Doubles | 1 |
13 | Fly Balls | 10 |
0 | Caught Stealing | 0 |
197 | Pitches | 161 |
0 | Games Started | 0 |
1 | Pinch At Bats | 1 |
0 | Pinch Hits | 0 |
0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
1 | Is Qualified In Steals | 0 |
20 | Total Bases | 8 |
48 | Plate Appearances | 36 |
324.0 | Projected Home Runs | 162.0 |
5 | Extra Base Hits | 2 |
9.5 | Runs Created | 2.0 |
.314 | Batting Average | .129 |
.000 | Pinch Hit Average | .000 |
.571 | Slugging Percentage | .258 |
.571 | Secondary Average | .290 |
.468 | On Base Percentage | .250 |
1.040 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .508 |
1.2 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 1.0 |
9.1 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | 2.0 |
60.0 | Batter Rating | 17.0 |
17.5 | At Bats Per Home Run | 31.0 |
1.00 | Stolen Base Percentage | 0.00 |
4.10 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 4.47 |
.257 | Isolated Power | .129 |
1.11 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 0.45 |
.208 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .139 |
.257 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | .161 |
18.0 | Runs Produced | 4.0 |
1.0 | Runs Ratio | 1.0 |
0.7 | Patience Ratio | 0.4 |
0.4 | Balls In Play Average | 0.2 |
103.3 | MLB Rating | 66.8 |
0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 37,594 | Capacity:
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 |
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 |