Rangers roll to 5th straight win amid tight playoff races

TORONTO -- When one starter went down, another stepped up.

Hours after the Rangers found out hurler Max Scherzer would miss the rest of the regular season, Jordan Montgomery handed his team a needed gem. The lefty pitched seven scoreless innings in Texas' 10-0 win over Toronto on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.

The Rangers, who have won five in a row, secured a series win over the Blue Jays by taking three of the first four games in the set and further solidified their grip on a postseason position.

• Games remaining: at TOR (1); at CLE (3); vs. BOS (3); vs. SEA (3); at LAA (3); at SEA (4)
• Standings update: The Rangers (81-64) are 1 1/2 games up on the Blue Jays (80-66) and a half-game up on the Mariners (81-65) for the second spot in the American League Wild Card race. Texas is one game behind Houston (83-64) for the AL West lead.
• Tiebreakers: Win vs. Toronto; lead vs. Seattle.

“We lose one of our guys, Max, I mean, it's a tough loss,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “But, you know, for [Montgomery] to go out there and do what he did, I think that just sends even a greater sense of confidence through the club that, ‘Hey, we’re very good. We have depth in the rotation and we're going to be fine.’”

Three pitches into the game, Montgomery had an easy out. A fastball, perfectly placed on the inside corner of the zone, drew an off-balanced swing from Toronto’s leadoff hitter, George Springer. The ball careened up in the air before gently settling into Marcus Semien’s waiting glove.

While Montgomery normally flashes a balanced four-pitch mix, it was his sinker that did most of the heavy lifting against Toronto. Of his 97 pitches, 63 were sinkers, inducing plenty of easy ground balls and fouled-off strikes.

“That’s my pitch,” Montgomery said. “When I locate it arm side and glove side, it kind of protects my offspeed [stuff].”

While Montgomery drew just five whiffs over his seven frames, the soft contact was more than enough to efficiently navigate Toronto's lineup. Seven batted balls in play had exit velocities under 80 mph, according to Statcast.

After yielding his second hit of the game, a scorched single by Santiago Espinal in the second inning, Montgomery immediately went back to the sinking fastball. He drew an easy grounder with the pitch, making for a simple double play to erase the knock and end the inning.

Montgomery was through two innings on just 24 pitches and cruised through the subsequent five efficient frames.

In support of their starter, the Rangers’ bats eventually went to work, too. Nathaniel Lowe (three-run homer) and Jonah Heim (RBI single) fueled a four-run rally in the fourth before Robbie Grossman added on in the fifth inning with a two-run shot that pushed the lead to 6-0.

It was Grossman’s second dinger in as many days and fifth hit of the series.

“That's something we really needed,” Bochy said. “Somebody to step up, especially in the heart of the order.”

Texas’ 6-0 lead loomed large, seemingly insurmountable with how Montgomery was dealing on the mound. His brilliance in Toronto wasn't guaranteed, either. In his previous two outings, Montgomery allowed a combined 11 earned runs and 15 hits. But, amidst the team’s biggest series of the season to date, he righted the ship.

The Rangers have battled injuries all season, losing five All-Stars at points during the second half. The latest blow, losing Scherzer for the rest of the regular season, certainly could have soured Wednesday’s contest.

“To come in here, to play this well, it does a lot for them,” Bochy said. “It reminds them how good they are.”