ARLINGTON, Texas - Ezequiel Duran did not need a highlight swing to change the inning. He needed air under the baseball.
His sacrifice fly to right in the second Friday night at Globe Life Field scored Nicky Lopez and pushed the Texas Rangers ahead 3-0, per ESPN's box. Texas beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1, reached .500 for a majors-leading 23rd time, and pulled even with Houston atop the American League West after the Astros lost to Atlanta 6-2, the Associated Press reported.
Duran finished 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and that RBI fly ball. In a game Texas won without hitting a home run, the small pieces - fly balls with runners tagging, doubles that moved traffic - mattered as much as the loud contact elsewhere.
Second-inning sequence
The Rangers loaded the bases before Duran came up. Evan Carter's grounder plated Wyatt Langford, and Jake Burger scored when shortstop Ernie Clement's throw bounced wide of third into foul territory, the AP wrote. Duran's sacrifice fly made it 3-0. Corey Seager's RBI double followed for 4-0.
Dylan Cease (11-6) walked six of his first 15 batters and exited with two outs in the third after 38 balls and 36 strikes. Five of Texas' seven runs were unearned. Toronto walked 10 and committed three throwing errors. Duran's contribution fit the night: force a throw, take a base when it is there, and keep the line moving.
He doubled later off J. Rodriguez and scored in the sixth when Langford walked with the bases loaded, stretching the lead to 6-1. ESPN's box lists Duran with one hit, one RBI, and one run; CBS Sports' line matches.
Standings squeeze
Texas moved to 77-77 and sits one game behind the White Sox for the third AL wild card, though Chicago owns the tiebreaker, the AP noted. Toronto dropped to 76-78, two games back in the wild-card hunt. The Rangers would have to win the West outright to finish ahead of Houston on a tie, but Friday's result wiped out the Astros' overnight cushion.
