TORONTO (Interstat) — The Texas Rangers send Jacob deGrom to the mound Thursday night as they open a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, with both teams hovering near .500 and seeking traction in their respective divisions. Texas (38-42) arrives after dropping Wednesday’s series finale 4-2 at Miami. deGrom took the loss despite a solid outing: 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned runs and 8 strikeouts. Over his past five starts, the right-hander is 3-2 with a 3.79 ERA, having allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of those outings. He threw 6 scoreless innings in a win over Cleveland on June 7 and followed with 5 scoreless frames at St. Louis on June 1. The Rangers, who lost two of three in Miami, have dropped seven of their past nine games overall. Toronto (39-40) comes off an 11-inning, 9-7 loss to Houston on Tuesday, but won the series opener 4-2 on Monday. Outfielder Daulton Varsho drove in two runs with a home run in Tuesday’s defeat, going 3-for-6. Over his past 11 games, Varsho is hitting .286 with two homers and six RBIs. The Blue Jays have won six of their past nine. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-4 Toronto victory. The Blue Jays are a -1.5 favorite, with an over/under of 7.5. Following this series, Texas travels to Cleveland for three games before returning home to face Detroit. Toronto hosts the New York Mets for three games, then visits Seattle and San Francisco.