Texas Rangers (38-42, fourth in the AL West) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (39-41, third in the AL East)
Toronto; Thursday, 7:07 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: MacKenzie Gore (4-6, 4.07 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 92 strikeouts); Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (4-5, 4.04 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 89 strikeouts)
LINE: Blue Jays -156, Rangers +126; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays begin a four-game series at home against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
Toronto is 22-20 in home games and 39-41 overall. The Blue Jays have the eighth-best team batting average in MLB play at .249.
Texas has gone 19-24 in road games and 38-42 overall. The Rangers rank 10th in the AL with 83 total home runs, averaging one per game.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kazuma Okamoto has 11 doubles and 17 home runs for the Blue Jays. George Springer is 12 for 41 with a double and two home runs over the last 10 games.
Jake Burger leads the Rangers with 13 home runs while slugging .440. Brandon Nimmo is 15 for 43 with six doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 5-5, .246 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored by 12 runs
Rangers: 4-6, .269 batting average, 5.36 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
INJURIES: Blue Jays: Ernie Clement: day-to-day (hip), Addison Barger: 10-Day IL (elbow), Lenyn Sosa: 10-Day IL (wrist), Max Scherzer: 15-Day IL (back), Joe Mantiply: 60-Day IL (knee), Jose Berrios: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yimi Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cody Ponce: 60-Day IL (knee), Anthony Santander: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Rangers: Corey Seager: day-to-day (concussion), Evan Carter: 10-Day IL (oblique), Robert Garcia: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jack Leiter: 15-Day IL (ankle), Danny Jansen: 10-Day IL (forearm), Michael Helman: 60-Day IL (hand), Chris Martin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carter Baumler: 60-Day IL (ribs), Cody Bradford: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jalen Beeks: 10-Day IL (back), Jordan Montgomery: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
