Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TEX	1	0	0	0	5	1	0	0	0	7	11	1
TOR	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	4	10	0

Cal Quantrill (3-0, 3.73 ERA) draws the emergency start for Texas after Jack Leiter went under the knife this month for ankle surgery. Quantrill has worked almost entirely out of the Rangers' bullpen since mid-April — his lone spot start to fill in for Leiter on June 23 in Miami lasted 2 innings and 34 pitches. Dylan Cease (4-3, 2.75 ERA) is a different conversation entirely: one of the better strikeout pitchers in the AL, he overhauled his approach this year with a five-pitch arsenal and a ground ball rate north of 55%. First pitch is 3:07 PM ET at Rogers Centre.

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FINAL

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ML

Total

Rangers(40-42)

WWLLW

7

-1.5+285+174o8.5+122

Blue Jays(39-43)

LLLLW

4

+1.5-300-178u8.5-125

Best BetBlue Jays -191

Pregame

Blue Jays at -110 with Cease on the mound against a converted reliever who's barely exceeded 2 innings as a starter this month is reasonable value regardless of the recent skid. Toronto has scored in both losses this series — their problem has been the starting pitching on the other side, not their lineup. Cease gives them an actual pitching advantage for the first time in this series.

Toronto's starting pitching has been a tire fire this week. Kevin Gausman got battered in the series opener Thursday — Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford, and Jake Burger all went deep off him in a 6-5 Texas win. Patrick Corbin couldn't get an out before the Rangers were already scoring on Friday, extending his personal winless streak to 6 straight starts. The Blue Jays rallied from 5-0 down in the 8th when Vladdy Jr. singled in 2 and Kazuma Okamoto followed with a 2-run shot to cut it to 1, but Jacob Latz slammed the door for his 16th save. That's 2 losses by a combined 2 runs in their own building.

Cal Quantrill

(3-1)·3.11 ERA

Jun 23 @ Marlins

ND

2.0IP

1ER

1K

0BB

34P

06/27 Lineup

Dylan Cease

(6-4)·2.56 ERA

Jun 22 vs Astros

ND

5.2IP

2ER

8K

4BB

110P

06/27 Lineup

Texas Rangers

(40-42)

Jun 26W@ Blue Jays5-4

Jun 25W@ Blue Jays6-5

Jun 24L@ Marlins2-4

Jun 23L@ Marlins4-6

Jun 22W@ Marlins4-3

Toronto Blue Jays

(39-43)

Jun 26Lvs Rangers4-5

Jun 25Lvs Rangers5-6

Jun 24Lvs Astros1-3

Jun 23Lvs Astros7-9

Jun 22Wvs Astros4-2

Texas has real momentum. Joc Pederson set a Rangers franchise record Thursday by hitting a leadoff homer off Gausman on the 11th pitch of the game — the longest at-bat for a Rangers leadoff home run since pitches have been tracked. Eovaldi backed him up Friday with 7 scoreless innings and 9 strikeouts. And the Rangers got Corey Seager back in the lineup June 25 after the two-time World Series MVP had been sidelined with a concussion since June 11. This is a more complete Texas team than it was 2 weeks ago.

Texas Rangers

(14)

• Day-To-DaySebastian Walcott (SS) — Walcott (elbow) will begin to ramp up his activity soon and is still on track for a late-July or early-August return to a minor-league affiliate, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.06/17
• 10-Day-ILEvan Carter (CF) — Carter (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment Friday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.06/25
• 10-Day-ILCody Freeman (3B) — The Rangers placed Freeman on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a herniated disc.06/25
• 10-Day-ILDanny Jansen (C) — Jansen (forearm) was able to throw out to 60 feet Saturday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.06/22
• 15-Day-ILJack Leiter (SP) — Leiter underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his right ankle region Tuesday and should be considered out indefinitely, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.06/23
• 15-Day-ILJalen Beeks (RP) — Beeks (2-1) earned the win in relief Saturday against the Cubs after tossing 1.1 scoreless innings. He struck out one with no hits or walks allowed.06/11
• 15-Day-ILChris Martin (RP) — The Rangers placed Martin on the 15-day injured list Monday with a right shoulder impingement.06/01
• OutDeclan Cronin (RP) — Cronin (elbow) signed a two-year, minor-league contract with the Rangers on Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.05/08
• OutNabil Crismatt (SP) — Crismatt will undergo surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILJordan Montgomery (SP) — Montgomery (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out a batter over a scoreless inning in a rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Sunday.06/22
• 60-Day-ILMichael Helman (CF) — Texas transferred Helman (hand) to the 60-day injured list Friday.06/19
• 60-Day-ILRobert Garcia (RP) — The Rangers transferred Garcia (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/01
• 60-Day-ILCarter Baumler (RP) — Baumler (intercostal) has been shut down from his rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.05/23
• 60-Day-ILCody Bradford (SP) — Bradford (elbow) began throwing from 60 feet during the Rangers' most recent homestand, MLB.com reports05/10

Toronto Blue Jays

(13)

• Day-To-DayJesus Sanchez (RF) — Sanchez was removed from Friday's game against the Rangers with a sprained right ankle, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/27
• Day-To-DayGeovanny Jesus Planchart (C) — no05/08
• Day-To-DayChay Yeager (RP) — Yeager will undergo season-ending UCL surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.05/08
• 10-Day-ILAddison Barger (RF) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday that Barger (elbow) will fly back to Toronto soon to be examined by the medical staff before potentially beginning a rehab assignment, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.06/24
• 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa (2B) — Sosa (wrist) will begin a rehab assignment Monday with the Blue Jays' Arizona Complex League affiliate, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.06/22
• 15-Day-ILMax Scherzer (SP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Scherzer (back) will travel to Dallas on Friday to get a cortisone shot to "help alleviate some left side stuff," Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/25
• developmental listFernando Perez (P)
• 60-Day-ILYimi Garcia (RP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Garcia (elbow) remains in a holding pattern due to neck and biceps nerve symptoms, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander (RF) — Santander (shoulder) could resume hitting within the next week, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/18
• 60-Day-ILJoe Mantiply (RP) — Mantiply will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair some damage in his left knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.06/04
• 60-Day-ILJose Berrios (SP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery Wednesday in addition to having a stress fracture repaired, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.05/27
• 60-Day-ILCody Ponce (SP) — Ponce underwent surgery Friday to repair the ACL in his right knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILBowden Francis (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Francis (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08

The question Saturday is how long Quantrill lasts. He hasn't gone past 3.1 innings in any recent relief appearance, and his Leiter audition in Miami was over before he broke a sweat. With Leiter, Jordan Montgomery, and Cody Bradford all on the IL, Texas doesn't have a safety net if their starter gets chased. The Blue Jays know it and should make him work. Cease, meanwhile, has been Toronto's most reliable arm all season — he cut his slider usage, added a changeup, and built a pitch mix that generates ground balls and strikeouts. The Blue Jays need 6 innings from their ace, and this is the kind of matchup where he should deliver.