Rangers Miss Out on Sweep of Blue Jays With 7-2 Loss
· Yahoo Sports
The Texas Rangers suffered a 7-2 series-concluding loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The loss prevented the Rangers from completing the sweep. What happened and what does it mean for Texas?
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Overcoming an early deficitJacob deGrom got the start for the Rangers, and after three very strong outings throughout September, he was below average on Sunday.
In the top of the first, deGrom allowed a leadoff walk and a single that the Blue Jays used to get on the board. In the third inning, he gave up an RBI double that gave Toronto a 2-0 advantage.
However, the Rangers’ offense finally got going in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ezequiel Duran started building the foundation for momentum when he drew a one-out walk in the frame, and after Alejandro Osuna grounded out, Jake Burger delivered a two-out, two-run home run to left-center field.
It was a big at-bat by Burger, and it marked the 27th time this season he has homered. However, the momentum that resulted from it was snuffed out quickly.
The wheels come offIn the top of the fifth, deGrom took the mound again and continued to struggle.
He opened the frame with a walk before giving up a single. After securing an out, deGrom gave up an RBI single that put the Blue Jays back in front, 3-2.
After he followed up the RBI single with another walk, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker had seen enough and went to his bullpen. By the end of his outing, deGrom had allowed five hits, three earned runs and four walks while striking out two batters over 4.1 innings of work.
Reliever Robert Garcia took the mound and navigated Texas through the remainder of the fifth and all of the sixth inning, but the situation took a turn for the worse for the Rangers in the seventh.
In the top of the inning, Schumaker went back to his bullpen, this time for left-hander Tyler Alexander, and Toronto took advantage of the pitching change. Alexander opened the inning by giving up a double, a walk and an RBI single.
Because of his poor showing, Alexander was replaced by Chase Silseth, and Silseth was able to secure two outs, but the Blue Jays struck again with a two-RBI double off the bat of Charles McAdoo and an RBI single off the bat of Andres Gimenez to cap off a four-run inning that was too much for the Rangers’ offense to overcome.
What does this mean?The bad news for Texas is that it missed out on a chance to pad the lead it has recaptured in the American League West Division. The good news is that it maintains a one-game lead with six games to go.
The Houston Astros fell to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, which was critical for the Rangers to stay in front. At 78-78, they are not good enough to make it to October as a Wild-Card seed, so winning the division has to be the way.
Additionally, Texas will host the New York Mets on Tuesday to kick off the final series in its three-game homestand, and given New York’s struggles this season, the Rangers have a chance to grow their lead even more in the AL West.