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The Toronto Blue Jays concluded their weekend series against the Texas Rangers with a 7-4 victory thanks to home runs from Steve Pearce and Kendrys Morales. TSN Baseball Reporter Scott Mitchell provides his key takeaways from the game.

GAME 10, APRIL 8: JAYS AT RANGERS

RESULT: 7-4 win (Jays win series 2-1)

RECORD: 6-4

STREAK: W1

1—Steve Pearce has settled in as manager John Gibbons’ top choice to lead off against left-handers, and he showed why Sunday afternoon, leading off the game with a home run off Rangers southpaw Cole Hamels. It’s Pearce’s second homer in as many days off a lefty starter, and he’s now been in the leadoff spot all four times the Jays have faced a left-hander.

2—Thanks to Josh Donaldson needing DH days from time to time in order to rest his shoulder, Kendrys Morales’ at-bats have been sporadic. But after sitting out Saturday against a left-handed starter — Morales slashed .362/.401/.598 with eight home runs in 137 plate appearances against lefties in 2017 — the lumbering 34-year-old was providing some pop Sunday, blasting a first-inning, three-run home run off Hamels to help the Jays jump out to an early 4-0 lead.

3—Jaime Garcia’s second start of the season was another solid effort, as he held the Rangers to just one run and three hits over five innings before running into trouble in the sixth when Adrian Beltre doubled and Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer to end his day. Garcia threw 5.1 innings, walked a pair and struck out five, leaving his ERA at 3.18 heading into his next scheduled start Saturday in Cleveland. An interesting note: Opposing teams have attempted 36 stolen bases on Garcia since the start of the 2016 season, the fifth most against a starting pitcher in the majors.

4—It’s way too early to jump to any conclusions, but Luke Maile is repaying the Jays’ faith in him with a strong start to the season in limited playing time. Maile’s third double of the season, one that produced an RBI in the sixth inning, will go down as his only hit Sunday, but he hit the ball hard in his first two at-bats and deserved a better fate. He’s looking like a serviceable backup, which is a complement considering the dearth of viable catchers around baseball.

5—After a single and a double off Aaron Loup in the seventh inning, Ryan Tepera was called upon to escape a jam, which he did. Tepera, who’s now appeared in six of the Jays’ 10 games already, walked Elvis Andrus to load the bases, but then struck out Beltre with a slider off the plate and got Gallo to pop up to protect the 7-3 lead. During the three-game series in Arlington, the bullpen allowed 14 hits in 10 innings of work.