TORONTO — If the start to the season was a playoff series — and sorry for those Blue Jay flashbacks — the Rangers would be in a significant hole, sure, but the gap between the teams is not nearly as visible.
The difference is a playoff series might be over by the time the Rangers leave Canada on Sunday afternoon, but the young season gives them plenty of time to answer questions that were bound to arise.
On Saturday, in a 4-3 win, Toronto exposed the weakness in the defense of inexperienced third baseman Andy Ibáñez to open up an early lead. And as they had a night earlier, the Blue Jays took advantage of a Rangers’ bullpen, which was the one area of the team in which there was not significant offseason investment. So, the Rangers got swabbed for mandatory US re-entry COVID tests on Saturday and face the possibility of being swept Sunday.
