The game was effectively decided in the first inning. Texas scored three times before Toronto had recorded an out, and Nathan Eovaldi made sure that cushion was more than enough. The Rangers won 5-4 at Rogers Centre on Friday, with Eovaldi's seven-inning gem doing most of the heavy lifting.
Eovaldi was commanding from the start. He allowed just 5 hits and 1 walk over 7.0 innings, striking out 9 without allowing a run. He threw 92 pitches and earned his eighth win of the season against seven losses, carrying a 3.95 ERA. Jacob Metz worked the ninth, allowing one walk but no runs, to record his 16th save of the year.
Texas wasted no time. Brandon Nimmo's double to right scored Wyatt Langford to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first. Justin Foscue followed with a single to left that brought in Josh Jung, and Ezequiel Duran's single to right scored Nimmo to make it 3-0. In the third, Foscue launched a two-run homer to left — 389 feet — with Jake Burger scoring on the play, pushing the lead to 5-0. Foscue finished 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI on the night.
Patrick Corbin absorbed the loss, falling to 2-4. He allowed 5 runs on 7 hits over 4.1 innings, striking out 5 with a walk on 94 pitches, with a 5.09 ERA. Toronto's offense was quiet through seven before erupting in the eighth. Vladimir Guerrero's single to center scored both Andres Giménez and George Springer to make it 5-2, and Kazuma Okamoto followed with a two-run homer to left center — 378 feet — that pulled the Blue Jays within one at 5-4. Okamoto finished 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. The rally fell short, however, as Metz retired Toronto in order in the ninth.
Texas improved to 39-42, snapping a losing streak. Toronto dropped to 39-42 and has now lost three straight. Brandon Nimmo, who drove in one run on the night, is 8 RBI away from 500 for his career.