Blue Jays suffer 12-6 loss to Rangers

(Toronto) Jonah Heim hit twice from the safe and drove in three runs, including a two-run homer, and the Texas Rangers came back strong to win 12-6 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Brad Miller and Nick Solak also hit the long ball for Rangers (1-2), who scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Solak finished the game with two hits on two hits and four runs scored.

Rangers starter Spencer Howard knocked out five hitters but allowed six runs in just three working innings. Brock Burke, Dennis Santana, John King, Josh Sborz and Joe Barlow took turns on the mound without giving the Jays an extra point.

On the Toronto field, Matt Chapman hit his first homer in a Blue Jays uniform (2-1) while George Springer, Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rounds.

Incumbent Hyun Jin Ryu, however, allowed six runs in five hits in three and a third inning. He had knocked out four hitters and allowed only one run in the first three innings before things got bad.

Julian Merryweather, Ross Stripling, David Phelps, Tayler Saucedo and Trent Thornton entered relieved and conceded six more points to the visitors.

After patrolling center field for the first two games of the season, Springer was the pick hitter on Sunday. He got in front of the batting line and sent the ball over the fence into the Jays’ bullpen on his first hit.

Five hitters later, Chapman threw the ball over the fence into left field. A three-point slap that sent Teoscar Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the home plate. The score was then 4-0 after one set.

Solak responded in second with a solo right slap.

Jansen restored the Jays to a four-run lead late in the inning as the ball went through the fence on the left. It is the second home home in two games for the receiver.

Guerrero added in the third with a solo shot that hit the second balcony at Rogers Centre. Estimated at 467 feet from home plate, that slap would be the longest of Vladdy’s young career.

Ryu then got into all sorts of trouble in the fourth set, seeing his team’s lead slip away. The Jays allowed six runs in that inning alone.

Andy Ibáñez led the Rangers’ attack with a double to midfield that pushed Mitch Garver to the plate. Charlie Culberson drove in another run two hitters later when his single scored Ibáñez. Then, Heim saw his kick ricochet off Ryu’s leg, which allowed Solak to cross home plate.

Ryu left the game after the third point, but when it came time to step on the bench, he nodded to the coach that he was fine. Merryweather hit the mound with two runners on the trails and allowed Miller a one-two to tie the two teams.

Rangers circled their lineup in that inning when Corey Seager hit a single that sent Miller home with the game win to give it a 7-6 lead.

In the fifth, Rangers scored two more runs on a Nathaniel Lowe single that sent Adolis Garcia to the plate, as well as a sacrifice fly from Miller that allowed Solak to complete his round of bases.

The final shot came in the seventh when Heim hit a two-run homer followed by Miller with a solo slap to make it 12-6.