Blue Jays at Rangers
The Toronto Blue Jays hope to fare much better on the second half of their six-game road trip when they visit the Texas Rangers on Friday for the opener of their three-game set. Toronto was swept by the Los Angeles Angels before departing for Arlington, Texas, where they were to arrive in the wee hours.
Toronto managed only eight runs in the series against the Angels and was limited to six hits - three doubles - in Thursday's 6-2 defeat, with Randal Grichuk and Rowdy Tellez notching two apiece. Texas also is coming off a sweep as it lost both contests of a two-game interleague series against Pittsburgh. Shin-Soo Choo belted a two-run homer while Joey Gallo and Danny Santana added solo shots in Wednesday's 7-5 setback for the Rangers, who have dropped seven of their last nine contests. Gallo has hit his 11 home runs this season in bunches as he is in the midst of his second three-game streak and had a stretch in mid-April during which he belted four in five contests.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Trent Thornton (0-3, 5.08 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Mike Minor (3-2, 2.88)
Thornton remains in search of his first major-league victory as he makes his seventh career start after settling for a no-decision against Oakland on Sunday, when he allowed one run on two hits and five walks in five innings. The 25-year-old Pennsylvanian has yet to last six innings, coming one out shy at Cleveland on April 5. Thornton, who has gone 0-1 while yielding six runs over 10 1/3 frames in two turns on the road, will be facing Texas for the first time.
Minor has recorded a few career bests over his last three starts as he tossed his first shutout April 16 against the Los Angeles Angels and registered 13 strikeouts in a victory at Seattle on Saturday. The 31-year-old Tennessean gave up one run and three hits over seven innings in the triumph, marking the fourth time in five outings he has allowed fewer than three runs. Minor has yet to lose to Toronto in his career, going 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA - and a save - in four starts and two relief appearances.
WALK-OFFS
1. Choo is riding a seven-game hitting streak during which he has gone 12-for-31 with three homers, five RBIs and four multi-hit performances.
2. Grichuk has gone 10-for-26 with six RBIs during his six-game hitting streak while Tellez went 4-for-7 over the final two contests versus the Angels.
3. Texas purchased the contract of RHP Seth Maness, who last pitched in the majors in 2017 with Kansas City, from High Point of the independent Atlantic League and assigned him to Triple-A Nashville - for which he surrendered four runs over six innings in a loss to Omaha on Thursday.