Jonah Heim hit a grand slam to help the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-4 on Monday and snap their opponents’ winning streak to three games.
“Every game is important at this point,” Heim said. No matter the opponent or where we are, every game counts. We will focus on one game at a time and do everything to win. »
The Blue Jays (80-64) and Texas (79-64) are second and third in the race for additional playoff spots in the American.
The Seattle Mariners can oust the Rangers if they beat the Angels on Monday night.
Chris Bassitt (14-8) gave up five runs and nine hits in five and a third innings.
Evan Carter hit his first home run in major league baseball for the Rangers, who won a third game in a row.
Carter’s solo slap tied the score 2-2 in the third.
Dane Dunning (10-6) pitched six innings, allowing three runs and six hits.
Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, who also host the Rangers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The Rangers scored five of their 10 points in the seventh. Heim’s strike was preceded by a sacrifice fly from Robbie Grossman.
“It’s a big series, yes, but we’re playing very well,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. I like the way the players approach things. It doesn’t matter if you lose by one or six points. We did some really good things, so we move on to tomorrow’s game. »
The Toronto club played in front of the smallest crowd of the season at the Rogers Centre, 23,451 people.
Starting pitchers Tuesday will be Max Scherzer and Hyun Jin Ryu.
Before the game, the Toronto Jays removed right-hander Erik Swanson from the 15-day injured list.
The 30-year-old reliever had spinal inflammation.
Swanson’s last outing was on August 26. He had a takedown in an 8-3 win against the Cleveland Guardians.
In order to make room for him in the lineup, the Jays assigned right-hander Jay Jackson to their AAA farm club.