Jonah Heim had five RBIs with a grand slam and a double and the visiting Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 10-4 on Monday.
Evan Carter had a solo home run and threw out a runner at home for the Rangers (79-64) in the opener of a four-game series.
Texas right-hander Dane Dunning (10-6) allowed three runs and six hits in six-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked three. The Rangers had gone 22 games without a win from a starting pitcher.
Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run for Toronto (80-64).
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (14-8) allowed five runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and fanned three.
Texas took a 1-0 lead in the second. Mitch Garver walked, took second on Robbie Grossman’s single and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice grounder by Leody Taveras. Garver scored when Bassitt left the mound and moved toward him as he strayed from the bag. Bassitt had already used his two disengagements.
Toronto took a 2-1 lead in the home second. With one out, Davis Schneider singled, Biggio walked and Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single. Kevin Kiermaier walked with two outs before George Springer hit an RBI single.
Carter opened the third with his first career major league home run, a blast to right.
Texas scored once in the fifth. Josh H. Smith walked and took third on Carter’s single. Smith was caught off third to start a double play on Marcus Semien’s grounder to third, but Corey Seager followed with an RBI single.
Kiermaier led off the home fifth with a double and was thrown out at home by Carter on Springer’s single to left.
Texas took a 5-2 lead in the sixth. One-out singles by Grossman and Taveras put runners at the corners. Grossman scored on a wild pitch, and Heim hit an RBI double to knock out Bassitt.
Toronto pinch hitter Spencer Horwitz singled in the sixth, took third on a wild pitch and a flyout and scored on Biggio’s sacrifice fly.
Chad Green walked Semien to open the seventh before being replaced by Genesis Cabrera, who allowed a double to Seager. Garver was walked intentionally with one out to load the bases. Grossman hit a sacrifice fly to score Semien. Taveras walked to load the bases, and Heim hit his 16th homer of the season, a 405-foot blast to left center.
It was his third career grand slam.
Biggio hit his ninth homer of the season against Ian Kennedy in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
