Rangers Falter in Series Finale against Blue Jays

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

May 28, 2025

Blue Jays 2, Rangers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (May 28) — It was another rough night for the Texas Rangers as they were limited to one hit in a 2–0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. Their lone knock came courtesy of a single by Josh Smith to lead off the bottom of the first. He reached base two more times via a couple of walks, accounting for most of their activity on the base paths. With this series in the books, the Rangers will host to the St. Louis Cardinals for three games. That set will begin on Friday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Matthew Liberatore (3–3, 2.73 ERA) will get the ball for the Cardinals. The Rangers, meanwhile, have yet to announce their starter for that game.

As for the Blue Jays, they will head home to begin a four-game series against the Athletics. The opener of that set will take place on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 pm Eastern. Left-hander Jacob Lopez (0–2, 2.57 ERA) will take the hill for the Athletics, and righty Jose Berrios (1–2, 4.22 ERA) will toe the slab for the Blue Jays.

Another Scoreless Tie

Both teams traded zeroes for the first eight innings. The Blue Jays got into the run column in the top of the ninth off Rangers reliever Robert Garcia.

Ernie Clement led off with a single to right. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nathan Lukes.

On deck was Alejandro Kirk, who was pinch-hitting for Ali Sanchez. After Kirk flied to center, Bo Bichette entered the game to take his swings for Michael Stefanic. Bichette connected on an 0–1 pitch, sending it to left for a two-run homer, thus sending the crowd of 20,811 home to their respective refrigerators.

What Went Right for the Blue Jays

As previously mentioned, the Blue Jays held the Rangers to one hit the entire evening, and that was with Corey Seager back in the lineup. He had just returned from an IL stint due to a hamstring injury that cost him 16 games.

Add in Bichette’s home run in the ninth, and that makes for a pretty good win for the Jays.

What Went Wrong for the Blue Jays

The only thing that could have made the night better for the Blue Jays was if Smith hadn’t gotten his single in the first. Their pitching staff was one hitter away from writing history.

No-Decision for Mahle

Rangers starter Tyler Mahle did not factor into the decision of Wednesday’s game. His line was 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 92 pitches/59 strikes. He lowered his season ERA from 1.80 to 1.64. That marks the third-lowest mark for any pitcher in franchise history through his first 12 starts of a season to only Nathan Eovaldi (1.56 this season) and Kenny Rogers (1.62 in 2005). Mahle lowered his home ERA from 0.95 to 0.82, best among qualifying pitchers.

He held the Blue Jays hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position and held them to a 1-for-11 clip with runners on base. Mahle now has a .162 opp. BA with RISP and .144 average with runners on base for the season. Rangers starting pitchers have allowed three runs or fewer in 19 consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history and longest by any club since the Atlanta Braves had a 25-game streak last season from August 11 to September 9, 2024.

Rangers reliever Jacob Webb took the loss after giving up Bichette’s homer in the ninth. He gave up two runs, both earned, on two hits and now has a record of 2–3 with an ERA of 5.47.

Short Outing for Schultz

Blue Jays starter Paxton Schultz retired eight of the nine hitters he faced in his first career start and fifth career appearance. His line was 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 45 pitches/28 strikes. He yielded the leadoff single to Smith in the first, then recorded eight straight outs, including four via strikeout. He was lifted for Eric Lauer with two outs and the bases empty in the third inning. Schultz has allowed zero earned runs in four of his first five outings, posting a 2.03 ERA.

Blue Jays reliever Brendon Little earned his third win of the year after recording the last two outs in the bottom of the eighth, both of which were strikeouts. His record now sits at 3–0 with an ERA of 1.46.

Right-hander Jeff Hoffman earned his 12th save of the season after striking out one in the ninth.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

With an understandably baffled expression on his face, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy tried to put his finger on what happened Wednesday. “We just got shut down,” he said. “We got a hit to start off the game, and we got no-hit basically after that for 27 outs. The pitching did a job on us.”