The Blue Jays left Arlington with a 7-2 win Sunday, a live Wild Card pulse and two health questions they hope will not follow them into the season’s final week. Toronto avoided a sweep by Texas, pushing its record to 77-79, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exited in the fourth inning with lower-back tightness and Dylan Cease remained back in Toronto for tests on his pitching shoulder.
A needed win in Arlington
Toronto’s offense wore down Jacob deGrom early, then broke the game open with four runs in the seventh. The Blue Jays collected 11 hits, matching their highest total since Sept. 12, and gave their bullpen enough room to close out a road trip that had started to feel urgent.
| Team | Runs | Hits | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Jays | 7 | 11 | 77-79 |
| Rangers | 2 | 6 | — |
- Brett Bateman opened the first inning by drawing a walk and later scored. He also led off the fifth with another walk, giving Toronto a steady table-setter against deGrom.
- Kazuma Okamoto and Sean Keys supplied early RBIs as the Blue Jays built a three-run lead against the Rangers right-hander.
- Texas drew even in the fourth when Jake Burger hit a two-run homer off Spencer Arrighetti. Ezequiel Duran had walked ahead of Burger.
- Bateman started the decisive seventh with a double against left-hander Tyler Alexander. After Myles Straw walked, Nathan Lukes singled home a run.
- Charles McAdoo followed against Chase Silseth with a two-run double, bringing in Straw and Lukes. Andrés Giménez then singled off Adam Macko to score McAdoo and cap the four-run inning.
Lukes and McAdoo finished with two RBIs apiece. Giménez drove in one, while Okamoto and Keys accounted for the earlier runs. Bateman reached three times from the leadoff spot and scored on each occasion.
DeGrom, now 11-10, was charged with three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. Toronto’s plan was less about one loud swing than making the Rangers ace work through long at-bats.
“The approach was strong against a tough pitcher,” manager John Schneider said. “With the bullpen needing some coverage, we had to make him throw pitches. The lineup battled him and raised his count.”
Pitching holds the line
Spencer Miles made the opening assignment and gave Toronto three sharp innings. The right-hander allowed two hits, struck out four and threw 46 pitches. Over his last four starts in that opener role, Miles has worked nine scoreless innings, permitting six hits and two walks while striking out 10.
Arrighetti, 9-9, took over and earned the win despite Burger’s tying homer. He worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and two walks.
From there, Mason Fluharty, Paul Sewald, José Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland shut the door. That five-man group covered the final 3 2/3 innings without allowing a run, yielding four hits and one walk while recording one strikeout.
Guerrero and Cease remain the bigger concern
Guerrero’s departure put a little chill in an otherwise welcome afternoon. Schneider said the first baseman had felt tightness before the game, tracing it to a stretch at first base a few days earlier. Guerrero was able to start, but the discomfort showed up again while he was swinging.
“He felt well enough to play, but we already knew there was something there,” Schneider said. “He felt it a bit on his swings, so he got treatment. Hopefully he is ready tomorrow.”
Schneider said there was no reason for alarm, calling the decision precautionary and saying the club hoped Guerrero would be available for Monday’s game in Baltimore.
Cease’s status is less certain. The right-hander was sent to Toronto for an MRI on his pitching shoulder Saturday and has been removed from his scheduled Wednesday start. No postgame update on the results was available Sunday, though the club still holds out hope that its ace can return for the final regular-season series against Cincinnati next weekend.
Final road stop ahead
The Blue Jays open a three-game series in Baltimore on Monday, their last road series of the regular season. Then comes the final three-game homestand against the Reds.
There is no room left for much wasted baseball, but Toronto at least carried some momentum out of Texas: an 11-hit afternoon, a bullpen that covered its innings, and a lineup that found a way to grind down a former Cy Young winner. The clubhouse will spend the next few days hoping Guerrero’s back loosens up and Cease’s shoulder delivers better news than the team fears.
