Blue Jays lose 6 run lead as Rangers stage comeback win

*Photo from Sports Illustrated*

   No lead is safe in baseball this year. Corey Seager drove in 3 runs, Leody Taveras had a 3 RBI game, and the Texas Rangers rallied to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays with a 11-7 victory on Sunday afternoon in Arlington.

   Once trailing 6-0, the Rangers outscored the Blue Jays 11-1 from that point on to snag a comeback win to win the series against Toronto. One of the big reasons why is the play of Taveras and Ezequiel Duran, who combined for 7 hits and 3 RBI's at the bottom of the Rangers order.

   Taveras said of hitting behind Duran that "It's a lot of fun. I was talking to him, I told him, ‘Hey, you gotta get a hit or I’m not gonna get a hit.’ That's what happened last at-bat. It’s just a lot of fun. I feel really good. And the team, I know we can do this. I know that things haven’t been going the best for us, but we know that we can keep going and do our best."

   Daulton Varsho gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead in the first on a sac fly. Whit Merrifield hit a two run single in the second, followed by a Bo Bichette two run double to make it 5-0 Toronto. Spencer Horwitz drove in a run on a groundout in the top of the 3rd to make it 6-0. The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd when Adolis Garcia and Nathaniel Lowe scored on a Josh Jung single and a throwing error.

   Seager drove in two runs in the 4th to make it 6-4, followed by an RBI single from Garcia to make it 6-5. In the 5th, Jonah Heim hit a solo home run to tie the game. Taveras then hit an RBI single and Duran scored on a sac fly to make it 8-6 Rangers. George Springer made it 8-7 on an RBI single. In the 7th, Taveras then hit a two run home run, followed by an RBI single from Seager to make it a 11-7 final.

   Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of the win that "I mean, they battled back. That's one of our better wins, I'll say since Opening Day. That's just a tremendous job they did. We did a lot of good things today at the plate. The patience that they showed at the plate, they stuck with a game plan, and this was more of a club that we saw in the first six or seven weeks."

   Jon Gray got the start for the Rangers, getting tagged for 6 runs while lasting just 2 1/3 innings. John King got the win with 3 1/3 innings of one run ball. Grant Anderson threw the next 1 1/3 innings. Jose Leclerc and Joe Barlow then threw an inning each to close out the win.

   Chris Bassitt allowed 5 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 3 2/3 innings. Nate Pearson allowed 3 runs while getting just two outs. Tim Mayza got the next two outs before Yimi Garcia threw a scoreless inning. Adam Cimber allowed 3 runs before Mitch White threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

   Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr said of the loss that "I wouldn’t call it frustrated. This is baseball. Of course you get upset. It happens. Not just today, but every time you lose a game it hurts. You can’t put your head down. You just have to keep fighting and keep going out there trying to win every game. It hurts, but we’re not frustrated."

   Both teams play their next series on the road. The Rangers give the start to Andrew Heaney as they face the Chicago White Sox. Jose Berrios starts for the Blue Jays against the Miami Marlins.