Burger's two RBI help Rangers flatten Blue Jays 7-1, tie West

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jake Burger kept finding ways to score and drive runners in while Toronto kept finding ways to give Texas free bases.

The first baseman finished 1-for-2 with two walks, a run, two RBI and a double Friday night as the Rangers beat the Blue Jays 7-1 at Globe Life Field, per ESPN's box. Texas reached .500 for a majors-leading 23rd time and pulled even with Houston atop the American League West after the Astros fell 6-2 to Atlanta, the Associated Press reported.

Burger's night was not a three-hit showcase. It was timely contact and patience in a game defined by Toronto's control problems. He scored in the four-run second, lifted a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and doubled home Wyatt Langford in the eighth for the final margin.

Second-inning mess, Burger in the middle

Texas broke through in the second when Evan Carter's bases-loaded grounder scored Langford and Burger came home on shortstop Ernie Clement's throwing error trying to force him at third, the AP wrote. Ezequiel Duran's sacrifice fly and Corey Seager's RBI double pushed the lead to 4-0.

Dylan Cease (11-6) walked a season-high six among his first 15 batters and was removed with two outs in the third after throwing 38 balls and 36 strikes.

Five of the Rangers' seven runs were unearned. Toronto walked 10 and committed three throwing errors, two by Kazuma Okamoto. Burger drew two of those walks and put the ball in play when it mattered.

His fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored Brandon Nimmo after Toronto had cut the deficit to 4-1 on Myles Straw's RBI double. His eighth-inning double to right off Joe Mantiply plated Langford for 7-1. ESPN's box lists Burger with two RBI; CBS Sports matches the extra-base and walk totals.

Standings squeeze for September

Texas improved to 77-77 and sits one game behind the Chicago White Sox for the third AL wild-card spot, though Chicago holds the tiebreaker, the AP noted. Toronto fell to 76-78 and is two games back in that race.

The Rangers still need to win the division outright to finish ahead of Houston on a head-to-head tie, but Friday erased the Astros' lead for a night.

Kumar Rocker started and worked 4 1/3 innings before Trevor Williams (2-0) threw four scoreless innings - two hits, no walks, four strikeouts - to close it out. Burger's contribution sat in the middle of that pitching handoff: keep the lead growing so Williams could work with a cushion.

Langford reached base five times (2-for-2, three walks) and stole a base. Seager's RBI double was the swing the AP led with in the second. Burger's two RBI were the quieter complementary line - a sacrifice fly and a double that turned a comfortable lead into a rout.

Series continues Saturday

Cal Quantrill (9-5, 2.90 ERA) is lined up for Texas against Jose Soriano (12-7, 3.56) on Saturday, per ESPN's probable pitchers. Burger will be back at first base in an order that scored seven runs without a home run Friday - walks, errors, doubles and fly balls stacking into a result that left Texas sharing first place in the West.

Two RBI and three times on base will not lead every highlight package. On a night when Toronto handed Texas 10 walks, Burger made sure those free bases turned into runs that stuck on the Globe Life Field scoreboard.

Sources

ESPN

ESPN

CBS Sports

CBS Sports