TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays offense has gone pretty quiet at the most inopportune time.
The Texas Rangers have been very happy to take advantage of the situation.
The Blue Jays dropped a 6-3 decision to Texas on Tuesday night, allowing the Rangers to leapfrog Toronto in the American League wild card standings.
“These guys are looking forward to this series and this challenge,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “It’s a good team. Until now we have not had successes in a row.”
The top three hitters in Toronto’s order (George Springer, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) were limited to one hit in 12 at-bats.
Robbie Grossman hit a two-run homer for Texas and Corey Seager had three hits and scored twice. The Rangers outhit the Blue Jays 9-7.
Toronto (80-65), now a half-game behind the Rangers, is tied with the Seattle Mariners for the third and final wild card. The Mariners defeated the Los Angeles Angels 8-0 on Tuesday.
The Rangers (80-64) extended their winning streak to four games. Starter Max Scherzer pitched five-plus scoreless innings before leaving the game due to a right triceps spasm.
Texas also secured the tiebreaker advantage over Toronto if the teams finish the season with identical records.
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Toronto managed just three hits against Scherzer before leaving after his 73rd pitch of the night. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Wednesday.
“When I threw that first curveball to Bichette (in the sixth), he felt like a workhorse,” Scherzer said. “I could feel like I wasn’t going to be able to throw another baseball.
“Best case scenario, I wake up tomorrow and feel good.”
Scherzer was replaced by José Leclerc, who was retired in the seventh after allowing a double to Spencer Horwitz and a sacrifice fly to Davis Schneider.
Cavan Biggio welcomed left-hander Brock Burke with an RBI single that put Toronto on the board.
Santiago Espinal followed with a hit to left center field, but was called out while trying to convert it into a double. The Blue Jays challenged the decision and it was overturned to the delight of the 30,479 spectators at Rogers Center.
Ernie Clement hit a soft grounder that scored Biggio. Davis Schneider hit a solo home run in the ninth inning for his eighth home run of the year.
Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu (3-3) allowed three earned runs and five hits in a season-high six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Scherzer (13-6) fanned a pair and walked one.
“I thought we had our shots to make and we just didn’t make them,” Schneider said.
The Blue Jays opened their 10-game homestand with a three-game sweep of the lowly Kansas City Royals. After this four-game series with Texas, Toronto will host the Boston Red Sox for a three-game weekend.
The Rangers’ winning streak is their longest since an eight-game winning streak in early August.
Seager’s single in the fourth inning was the 1,000th hit of his career. He scored on Grossman’s ninth home run of the season.
Seager scored again in the sixth after leading off with a double. He came home on a sacrifice fly from Jonah Heim. Texas added two more runs in the seventh.
Toronto reliever Erik Swanson pitched a clean eighth inning in his first appearance since being reinstated from the 15-day disabled list a day earlier.
The Rangers added an insurance run in the ninth against Trevor Richards. The match lasted two hours 39 minutes.
GETTING CLOSER
Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman had a full day of pregame work as he moves closer to returning to action.
He participated in hitting, running and infield drills and was also scheduled for some indoor batting cage work. Chapman (finger) has been on the injured list since August 28.
MOVEMENTS IN THE STAFF
The Blue Jays placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the injured list with muscle spasms in his lumbar spine.
Outfielder Nathan Lukes was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
SQUID GAME
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rick Vaive threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joining him near the mound were retired NHL players Gary Leeman, Mike Gartner, Steve Thomas and Nik Antropov.
GOING UP
The lefties are scheduled to meet Wednesday night as the four-game series continues.
The Blue Jays will turn to Yusei Kikuchi (9-5, 3.57 ERA), while the Rangers will counter with Jordan Montgomery (8-11, 3.62).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2023.
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