The Toronto Blue Jays dropped their fifth straight game since climbing back to .500, falling 7-4 to the Texas Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Rangers take control early
Texas jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, capitalizing on two Blue Jays errors. Marcus Semien drove in three runs with a double and a sacrifice fly, while Nathaniel Lowe added a two-run homer in the fifth inning off Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease.
Cease (5-7) allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits over 4.2 innings, striking out six and walking three. He was pulled by manager John Schneider after surrendering Lowe's home run.
Blue Jays mount late rally but fall short
Toronto scored three runs in the sixth inning on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double and a George Springer sacrifice fly, but the Rangers bullpen held the Blue Jays to one more run in the ninth. Davis Schneider and Daulton Varsho each had two hits for Toronto.
“We’re not playing clean baseball right now,” Schneider said after the game. “The errors are killing us, and we’re not getting the big hit when we need it.”
Blue Jays now 38-38 after reaching .500
The loss drops the Blue Jays to 38-38, their first time below .500 since June 15. Toronto had climbed back to .500 on Monday after a 9-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, but has since lost five in a row, including two to the Rangers and three to the New York Yankees.
The Blue Jays have committed 10 errors during the losing streak and have been outscored 32-18. Toronto's offense ranks 22nd in MLB in runs per game over the last 10 games.
Up next for Toronto
The Blue Jays conclude their three-game series against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Kevin Gausman (6-4, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to start for Toronto against Texas left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-5, 4.12 ERA).
After the series, the Blue Jays travel to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros, beginning Monday night.
