ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kevin Gausman pitched five no-hit innings before exiting with lower back tightness, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit two solo homers after that and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers 4-0 on Thursday to avoid a series sweep.
Texas managed only two singles against Gausman and four relievers.
Gausman (13-11) struck out six and the only runner he allowed was on a walk in the fifth. The 33-year-old right-hander threw 38 of his 58 pitches for strikes before Dillon Tate struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect sixth.
Génesis Cabrera then took over in the seventh, and Josh Smith lined the first pitch sharply into right-center for a hit, though he was thrown out trying to stretch it for a double.
Guerrero has 30 homers after going deep in the seventh and ninth innings. His first multi-homer game this season was the 10th in his career.
The reigning World Series champion Rangers (73-80) were officially eliminated from the AL West race, falling 9 1/2 games behind the division-leading Houston Astros with nine games to play. Texas was seven back in the wild-card race.
Rangers rookie Kumar Rocker (0-1) struck out five, walked four and hit a batter over three innings in his second career start. He was the Rangers’ first-round draft pick two years ago, and allowed two runs (one earned) in what will be his only appearance at home this season.
The closest the Rangers came to a hit against Gausman was when Adolis García hit a sharp grounder along the first-base line that went foul leading off the fifth inning. García then took a called third strike on an 85.2 mph slider that appeared to be low. Nathaniel Lowe walked on four pitches before Gausman struck out the final two batters he faced.
Toronto left six runners on base in three innings against Rocker. The Blue Jays got a run in the second without a hit, with Nathan Lukes hitting a sacrifice fly after the bases were loaded on two walks and a hit batter. They scored in the third on a two-out error by third baseman Ezequiel Duran.
BLANKS
The Blue Jays recorded their ninth shutout victory of the season, a day after losing 2-0 at Texas. The Rangers were held scoreless for the 10th time this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was put on the injured list with a broken right middle finger after returning for only one game after he had been out more than eight weeks with a calf injury. He played Tuesday night in his first game since July 19, but broke his finger taking groundballs before Wednesday’s game, when he was a late scratch from the lineup.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: Open their final road trip of the season Friday night at Tampa Bay. RHP José Berríos (16-9, 3.44 ERA) is 7-0 with a 1.51 ERA over his last seven starts.
Rangers: Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom (0-0, 0.00) makes his second start since elbow surgery last summer when he starts the series opener at home against the Mariners. It comes a week after he threw 61 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in Seattle in his first big league start since April 28, 2023.
