For a second straight game, the Toronto Blue Jays were unable to defeat the Texas Rangers.
Tuesday evening, at the Rogers Center, the only Canadian team in major baseball fell 6 to 3. The Texan club thus overtook the Jays in second place among the teams drafted for the playoffs in the American. The Torontonians, who now have the last place giving access to the playoffs, could even be caught by the Seattle Mariners, who will be in action later in the evening.
In this second duel of a series of four against the Rangers, the Blue Jays were limited to seven hits.
Pitcher Max Scherzer (13-6) worked five and a third innings. The visitors’ starter gave three hits to safety and a walk, in addition to passing two rivals in the mitt. He was forced to leave the match due to a triceps injury in his right arm.
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On the mound for the Jays, Hyun Jin Ryu (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits in six innings. Relievers Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards were on the mound for the Rangers’ other runs.
The latter opened the scoring in the fourth inning, when Robbie Grossman hit a two-run homer. Jonah Heim, Corey Seager and Travis Jankowski produced the other three hits for the winners.
The Jays opened their score in the seventh inning. Cavan Biggio and Ernie Clement allowed two of their teammates to step on the plate. In the ninth inning, Davis Schneider threw the ball out of bounds. However, it was too little too late for a comeback.
Belt on the sidelines
Before today’s game, the Blue Jays placed Brendon Belt on the injured list for a period of 10 days.
The first baseman suffers from muscle spasms in his lumbar spine.
In 97 games in 2023, Belt had a .251 batting average and hit 16 home runs. He is the third athlete from the Toronto club to fall in action recently, after third baseman Matt Chapman and catcher Danny Jansen.
Nathan Luke was recalled from the Buffalo Bisons, but was not used against the Rangers.