Things worth mentioning…

• Yusei Kikuchi cruised through his first three innings of work but the Rangers got to him during their second time around the batting order. Corey Seager drew a leadoff walk, Robbie Grossman and Jonah Heim both hit singles and then Nathaniel Lowe smashed a three-run bomb to make the score 4-0. Texas scored two more in the fifth inning when Grossman hit a two-run dinger. All told, Kikuchi allowed six earned runs over five innings. That’s the most runs he’s given up in a start since all the way back on April 9 against the Los Angeles Angels.
• Jordan Montgomery came into this start for Texas having allowed a whopping 14 earned runs over his last three starts but he settled down when going up against the Blue Jays and their completely listless lineup. The lefty sailed through seven scoreless innings and only allowed four hits, all singles, while walking one batter and striking out three.
• The top performers offensively for the Blue Jays were Santiago Espinal and Ernie Clement, who each had two singles. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a single to end his drought at the plate in this series but Bo Bichette and George Springer both came up empty, so the top three hitters in Toronto’s lineup went 1-for-10.
• The Blue Jays will rely on Kevin Gausman to help them avoid a sweep on Thursday. Gausman held the Rangers to one run over six innings in Toronto’s only win over Texas so far this season, a 2-1 victory in Arlington back on June 16.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO