Jose Bautista’s three-run blast sinks Yu Darvish, Rangers

Jose Bautista struck again to beat the Rangers. His three-run homer in the fifth against Yu Darvish was enough for a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre. The Rangers have lost five consecutive games and fall back two games under .500 (24-26).

How Rangers pitchers fared: Yu Darvish struggled with his command but except for a slider up in the zone to Jose Bautista it didn’t cost him much. Bautista’s three-run homer with two outs in the fifth gave the the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. Darvish left after six innings and 109 pitches. He allowed three runs on five hits and three walks and took the loss. All three walks came in the fifth, including a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Luke Maile. With two outs, Devon Travis singled before Bautista’s homer. Sam Dyson pitched a perfect seventh but ran into trouble in the eighth. He struck out Russell Martin to start the eighth but after a bunt single and walk he was replaced by Alex Claudio. Claudio couldn’t field a soft comebacker to the mound and Rougned Odor’s throw to first was in the dirt to load the bases. Tony Barnette replaced Claudio to face Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis and struck out both of them to end the inning.

How Rangers hitters fared: Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a first-pitch homer to center field against Jays’ starter Marco Estrada. In the fourth, Rougned Odor singled and Ryan Rua doubled with two outs but Joey Gallo struck out looking to end the inning. The Rangers hardly

Notables: Elvis Andrus committed his 10th error in the sixth inning. He didn’t make his 10th error in 2016 until Aug. 10, 2016, and finished the season with 17 ... 46,865 was Saturday’s announced attendance ... the Rangers have struck out 40 times in their past three games, including 12 on Saturday.

This story was originally published May 27, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Jose Bautista’s three-run blast sinks Yu Darvish, Rangers."