Rangers Lose To Blue Jays
TORONTO — Roberto Osuna has stepped up when the Toronto Blue Jays have been found lacking in the closer’s role.
The 20-year-old right-hander pitched 1 1/3 innings Sunday to earn his second career save and help the Blue Jays defeat the Texas Rangers 3-2.
“I like it,” Osuna said. “I want to be in those situations. I feel very comfortable.”
The Blue Jays got eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings from right-hander Drew Hutchison, who won his fifth consecutive decision, and a home run from third baseman Josh Donaldson before Osuna was called upon to preserve the lead.
“What he’s been doing this year has been unbelievable,” Hutchison said. “It was a good win and a good win of the series.”
Osuna replaced right-hander Steve Delabar with runners at the corners in the eighth and struck out right fielder Shin-Soo Choo to end the inning.
He allowed a leadoff double in the ninth to second baseman Rougned Odor. Osuna then retired designated hitter Prince Fielder on a liner to left, third baseman Adrian Beltre on a fly to center that sent Odor to third and ended the game by striking out first baseman Mitch Moreland.
Osuna has been making good use of a changeup that complements his fastball, which reaches 97 to 98 mph.
“I think it’s the best pitch I’ve got right now so I try to use it a little bit more,” Osuna said of his
changeup. “Especially today they were looking for the fastball. I’ve got the changeup. It feels pretty good with the slider, too, but I feel more comfortable with the changeup. Everybody knows I throw hard so they’re looking for the fastball.”
The Rangers stranded 12 runners while the Blue Jays left only two on base.
“It’s not how we designed it,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “We’ve got to be better with runners in scoring position. Felt like we got pitched tough but really had some opportunities to drive in some runs. When you leave 12, we were 2-for-14 (actually 2-for-15, with runners in scoring position), we’re not gonna win too many games.”
Hutchison (8-1) allowed four hits, three walks and one unearned run in the rubber match of the three-game series.
“They’ve got a good team over there,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “They’re pesky. It’s a different look than you see from a lot of teams. Great speed. They have some pretty good hitters with a lot of power. The pitching was great on both sides.”
Texas right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-3) allowed four hits, four walks and three runs in six innings. He struck out three in losing his third straight decision.
“I felt like Chi Chi threw the ball well, had good movement on all his pitches,” Banister said. “This is a ballclub that, they hunt velocity more than anything else.”
Gonzalez retired his first 10 batters before giving up Donaldson’s 18th homer of the season in the fourth on a 3-2 count.
“The home run hurt a little bit.” Gonzalez said. “Any home run does. It threw me off my game. It kind of made me more cautious. Instead of attacking hitters I started nitpicking and I started falling behind.”
The Blue Jays (41-36) increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Left fielder Ezequiel Carrera led off with a walk and scored on a one-out double by second baseman Devon Travis, who scored on a single by shortstop Jose Reyes.
The Rangers (38-38) scored an unearned run in the sixth. Fielder singled with one out to extend his hit streak to seven games. He was safe at second on a throwing error by Travis as he attempted to get the force on a grounder up the middle by Beltre.
Moreland forced Beltre at second with a grounder to second, and shortstop Elvis Andrus singled to score Fielder.
Hutchison walked left fielder Joey Gallo to load the bases. Left-hander Aaron Loup replaced Hutchison and struck out center fielder Leonys Martin to end the inning.
The Rangers loaded the bases in the seventh with one-out singles by Choo, Odor and Fielder.
Right-hander Bo Schultz replaced Loup. Beltre’s bouncer forced Fielder at second as a run scored to cut the lead to 3-2.
Andrus greeted Delabar with a bloop double to left to open the eighth. Andrus moved to third on a groundout to the pitcher by Gallo. Delabar struck out Martin but walked catcher Robinson Chirinos to bring in Osuna, who finished the game.
