Jays stung by back-to-back homers, lose 4-2 to Rangers
By Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press on June 17, 2023.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Adolis GarcÃa’s MLB-leading 10th outfield assist ended Toronto’s hot-hitting first inning. The Texas right fielder then helped get the offence going before two more stellar defensive plays. Josh Jung and Jonah Heim hit back-to-back homers in the second inning, with Jung’s go-ahead shot coming after GarcÃa walked, and the Rangers beat the 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. “It’s a good win for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s kind of been a little bumpy here lately.” Pitching and defence combined with the long ball helped smooth things out a little bit. GarcÃa threw out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate trying to score from second on Daulton Varsho’s single – the fourth hit among the Blue Jays’ first five batters, including Guerrero’s RBI single for a 1-0 lead. “I think that kind of helps change the momentum a little bit,” starter Dane Dunning said. “Just from them getting hot to start and rattling off hits and you cut (off) that rally.” GarcÃa 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. The 2021 All-Star from Cuba also had two singles. “It’s good to see Adolis have a game like that,” Bochy said. The rookie Jung’s two-run homer put the Rangers in front in the second, 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. Dunning (6-1) allowed just two more hits after the four in the first. The right-hander gave up two runs, including Varsho’s 12th home run, while striking out three and walking one in six innings. Josh Sborz pitched two scoreless innings, and Will Smith pitched around two singles in the ninth and two more hard-hit balls for his 12th save. “If you look at some of the balls we put in play today, not just in the ninth inning, I think overall, some loud outs,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “The bats are there, and we’re getting traffic.” Richards (0-1) retired the first three hitters in the reliever’s second start of the season, and then the next six after Heim’s homer before leaving after GarcÃa’s leadoff single in the fourth. “Trev was yanking his heater a little bit and left some balls in the middle,” Schneider said. “They can score in a hurry. If you look past the two homers, he did a fairly good job.” BACK IN THE SWING Dunning had allowed at least three runs in three consecutive starts after not allowing more than two in his first four. The 28-year-old, who was on the paternity list in late May for the birth of his first child, spent the first month in the bullpen. “My routine was completely out of whack, just trying to catch up sleep a little bit,” Dunning said. “Just felt off. Was able to get my routine back in place, especially from the last start to this start.” UP NEXT Texas RHP 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 RHP 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. — AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 26-25
