May 21, 2024
Rangers use back-to-back home runs to power past Blue Jays | CBC Sports

Rangers use back-to-back home runs to power past Blue Jays | CBC Sports

Josh Jung and Jonah Heim hit back-to-back homers, Adolis Garcia had his MLB-leading 10th outfield assist among three defensive gems and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto 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.

The rookie Jung’s two-run homer put the Rangers in front in the second inning after Garcia walked, 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 RBIs, 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.

Garcia threw out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate to end the first after Guerrero’s RBI single put the Blue Jays ahead.

The Texas right fielder made a leaping catch on the warning track on a liner from George Springer to end the fifth, then opened the sixth with a sliding catch on a blooper from Whit Merrifield.

Dane Dunning (6-1) allowed six hits — four in the first inning — and two runs, including Daulton Varsho’s 12th home run, in six innings. Josh Sborz pitched two scoreless innings, and Will Smith pitched around two singles in the ninth for his 12th save.

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

Texas right-hander 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 right-hander 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.

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