ARLINGTON -- The Blue Jays, scraping and clawing to extend their season beyond 162 games, aren’t hitting any panic buttons just yet.

That goes for the health of , who left Sunday’s 7-2 victory over Texas in the fourth inning with lower back tightness.

“It was kind of tight before the game,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who added that the tightness stemmed from a stretch at first base a couple of days ago. “We just wanted to be careful, and hopefully he's good for tomorrow.”

Time will tell. 

That’s the case with , too. It was revealed earlier in the day that the right-hander had been sent back to Toronto for an MRI on his pitching shoulder on Saturday. Cease has been scratched from his next scheduled start on Wednesday, though hope remains that the Blue Jays ace could be available for the team’s final regular-season series against the Reds next weekend. 

While there was no news to report on any of those test results postgame, there’s no panicking in baseball.

Toronto (77-79) did what it needed to do on Sunday, leaving Texas with a much-needed victory that kept their American League Wild Card hopes alive and avoided a series sweep.

Nathan Lukes and Charles McAdoo each had two RBIs, including run-scoring hits in the Blue Jays' four-run seventh inning that broke open a one-run game. Andrés Giménez also had an RBI in the inning, while Kazuma Okamoto and Sean Keys each drove in a run in the early innings.

Brett Bateman served as catalyst with walks to lead off the first and fifth innings, as well as a single to lead off the seventh. He scored all three times. 

The Blue Jays got to Texas ace right-hander Jacob deGrom (11-10) for three runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Toronto blistered Rangers pitching with an 11-hit attack -- the most hits its recorded since having 11 as well on Sept. 12.  

“It was a good approach against a really good pitcher,” Schneider said. “And on a day like today, you need that when you're running from the bullpen a little bit. We just kind of grinded him, got his pitch count up. I think up and down, it was a really good approach.”

Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (9-9) earned the victory in relief of opener Spencer Miles. Arrighetti worked 2 1/3 innings, giving up two hits, including Jake Burger’s two-run home run that tied the game in the fourth. Arrighetti also walked two hitters, including Ezequiel Duran, who got on base two hitters before Burger came to the plate. 

The right-handed Miles was good, going three innings, giving up two hits and striking out four on 46 pitches. 

Miles has been very effective in that role. In his four most recent opener appearances, Miles has pitched nine scoreless innings, giving up six hits, two walks, and striking out 10.

Five other pitchers finished out a stifling performance against the Rangers. Mason Fluharty, Paul Sewald, José Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers, and Louis Varland combined to allow four hits and one walk with one strikeout in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. 

Bateman led off Toronto’s decisive seventh inning with a double off lefty Tyler Alexander. Straw’s walk was followed by Lukes’ run-scoring base hit. McAdoo, facing right-hander Chase Silseth, doubled in Straw and Lukes before Gimenez drove him in from second with a base hit off Adam Macko.

“It doesn't always have to be a hit,” Schneider said of Bateman. “You want to get on base in the walks against DeGrom, just fighting him off, fighting him off and taking some really close pitches. It kind of sets the tone, and I think it kind of just bleeds into everyone else up in that lineup.”

The Blue Jays will wrap up the road portion of the regular season with a three-game series in Baltimore, starting Monday. They’ll head home for the final three games of the regular season against the Reds. 

Toronto will enter with a little momentum over the final week, confident their star first baseman will be there.

“He felt good enough to go, but we kind of knew it was there,” Schneider said of Guerrero. “He was kind of just feeling a little bit as he was swinging. So he got some treatment, and hopefully he feels good tomorrow.”

As for Cease, fingers are crossed in the clubhouse.