(Toronto) Jonah Heim hit a grand slam to help the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-4 on Monday and cut their opponents’ winning streak to three games.
“Every game is important right now,” Heim said. No matter the opponent or where we are, every game counts. Let’s focus on one game at a time and do everything we can to win. »
The Blue Jays (80-64) and Texas (79-64) are second and third in the race for additional American playoff spots.
The Seattle Mariners can knock off the Rangers if they beat the Angels on Monday night.
Chris Bassitt (14-8) gave up five runs and nine hits in five and a third innings.
Evan Carter hit his first home run in major league baseball for the Rangers, who won their third straight game.
Carter’s solo slap shot tied the score at 2-2 in the third.
Dane Dunning (10-6) pitched six innings, allowing three runs and six hits.
Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, who also host the Rangers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The Rangers scored five of their 10 points in the seventh. Heim’s hit was preceded by a Robbie Grossman sacrifice fly.
“It’s a big series, yes, but we’re playing really well,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. I like the way the players approach things. It doesn’t matter if you lose by one point or six. We did some really good things, so we move on to tomorrow’s game. »
The Toronto club played in front of the lowest attendance of the season at Rogers Centre, 23,451 people. The starting pitchers on Tuesday will be Max Scherzer and Hyun Jin Ryu.
Before the game, the Toronto Jays activated right-hander Erik Swanson from the 15-day injured list. The 30-year-old reliever had spinal inflammation.
Swanson’s last outing was on August 26. He suffered a fall in an 8-3 victory against the Cleveland Guardians.
To make room for him in the lineup, the Jays assigned right-hander Jay Jackson to their AAA farm club.
