Blue Jays bring 1-0 series advantage over Rangers into game 2

Updated Jun. 17, 2023 3:59 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays (39-32, fourth in the AL East) vs. Texas Rangers (42-27, first in the AL West)

Arlington, Texas; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: TBD; Rangers: Dane Dunning (5-1, 2.91 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 36 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Blue Jays -153, Rangers +131; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays meet the Texas Rangers with a 1-0 series lead.

Texas is 42-27 overall and 22-13 in home games. The Rangers have the highest team batting average in MLB play at .270.

Toronto has a 39-32 record overall and a 20-19 record in road games. Blue Jays hitters have a collective .331 on-base percentage, the fourth-ranked percentage in the AL.

The teams play Saturday for the second time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Marcus Semien has 21 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs while hitting .283 for the Rangers. Leody Taveras is 10-for-33 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 14 doubles, nine home runs and 41 RBI while hitting .279 for the Blue Jays. Whit Merrifield is 12-for-34 with three doubles over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 3-7, .222 batting average, 4.75 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Blue Jays: 6-4, .241 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored by three runs

INJURIES: Rangers: Jon Gray: day-to-day (blister), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Miller: 10-Day IL (oblique), Jake Odorizzi: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Glenn Otto: 60-Day IL (lat), Brett Martin: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Blue Jays: Chad Green: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brandon Belt: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Zach Pop: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Hyun-Jin Ryu: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.