ARLINGTON, Texas -- Mitch Moreland will be the guy at first base for Texas if Prince Fielders neck problem keeps him out for any length of time. His bat was a big boost a few hours after a players-only meeting for a slumping team trying to halt a slide down the AL West standings. Moreland hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, Alex Rios had a two-run triple and the Rangers avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-2 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. "Id like to see him do that more often, then he can get more playing time," manager Ron Washington said after Moreland doubled in his final at-bat. "Mitch is a big part and today he stepped up huge for us." Washington expects Fielder to play in the next game Tuesday night against Seattle after he had an injection designed to ease the pain and pressure of a disk problem in his neck that he says goes back to last season. If the outlook on Fielder changes, Moreland says his approach wont. "Weve had to deal with adversity all year," said Moreland, whose second homer of the season was a line drive just over the wall in right field off R.A. Dickey (4-4) to break a 2-all tie. "You come in every day ready to play." The Rangers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and stayed seven games behind Oakland in fourth place in the AL West, had gone 23 innings without an extra-base hit when Rios drove one off the right-centre wall in the fourth. Juan Francisco and Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Blue Jays, who had won a franchise-record six straight in Texas, including a four-game sweep in their only visit last year. "Great teams find a way to sweep series," Dickey said. "Were definitely going in the right direction, but theres more there that we need to do. Today was a game we probably should have won." The Rangers were in position to add to the lead Moreland gave them in the seventh when Toronto manager John Gibbons got the Blue Jays out of the jam with a challenge after three previous visits with umpires ended without a video review. Michael Choice lined out to Francisco, who tagged third base with his glove as Robinson Chirinos was diving back to the bag. Dale Scott called Chirinos safe, but a review lasting nearly 3 minutes overturned it and gave Toronto an inning-ending double play. Gibbons move ended up not mattering much when Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre had run-scoring hits in the eighth. Moreland hit his second homer of the season after Rios just beat Franciscos throw for an error on one of the plays Gibbons considered challenging. Toronto had a season-high four errors. Texas rookie right-hander Nick Martinez left with a 2-1 lead after five innings but lost the chance for his first big league win on Encarnacions ninth homer, a shot to left field off Aaron Poreda in the sixth. Poreda (2-0) ended up getting the win after a scoreless seventh, and closer Joakim Soria pitched a shaky but scoreless ninth in a non-save situation on his 30th birthday. Franciscos home run into the upper deck in right field was among four hits allowed by Martinez in a solid outing that should give him a chance to stay in the rotation with four Texas starters on the disabled list. He had never pitched above Double-A before this year. "Each time he takes the ball its an experience for him," Washington said. "He knew where we were today and he did a good job just getting us through as many pitches as he could handle." Dickey allowed three hits and four runs in falling to 12-12 against the team that drafted him and gave him his first shot in the majors 13 years ago. NOTES: Rangers 2B Rougned Odor was a late scratch with a sore right wrist. He was replaced in the No. 9 spot by Luis Sardinas. ... Sunday marked the first of nine day games in a stretch of 14 for the Rangers. That hasnt happened since 1984. ... Julio Franco, who spent five of his 23 seasons in Texas and was 49 when he played his final game in 2007, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Paul ONeill Jersey . -- Get a flow chart ready to follow the Packers quarterback situation. David Wells Jersey . -- Andy Dorman and Kelyn Rowe scored in the second half to lead the New England Revolution to a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Saturday night. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custom-jonathan-loaisiga-jersey-large-1604i.html . Less than 24 hours later, in the same arena, he tried to recreate the magic of his all-time favourite player. Hilliard scored a career-high 26 points and No. Joe Girardi Jersey . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. Alex Rodriguez Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. TORONTO -- Striker Jermain Defoe says he is back to 100 per cent and ready to play for Toronto FC -- and England. "Its been really frustrating because when you get off to a good start, you just want it to continue as long as possible," said Defoe, who scored three goals in his first two games in Major League Soccer before being sidelined with a hamstring strain in late March. "But it happens. Its football, you get little niggles. Luckily enough it wasnt something that was too serious. It was just a case of resting and doing your rehab stuff. But yeah it feels fine now. I feel 100 per cent. Ive worked really hard. So maybe Ill come back stronger than I was before, which is important for the team." Saturdays game against the visiting New England Revolution (3-3-2) will mark five weeks since Defoe walked off the field favouring his hamstring in the 61st minute of a 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Thanks to a bye, he only missed three games with Toronto (3-3-0) going 1-2-0 in his absence. Defoe, speaking to reporters after practice Tuesday, rubbished the suggestion that the injury layoff may affect his chances at making Englands World Cup squad. England manager Roy Hodgson plans to name his 23-man roster on May 13. "I missed three games. It happens in football, players get injured," said the 31-year-old Defoe, who has won 55 caps for England. "But if you miss three games and that changes the fact that you could, I dont know, go to a tournament, thats crazy." Manager Ryan Nelsen says he has not heard from the English camp. "Not yet," he said. Defoe, for one, does think much talk is needed. "I dont feel like I need to sell myself to anyone because Ill just let my football do the talking. Ive done that since I made my professional debut at 17 ... Im sure the manager knows what I can do." Defoe said not only is he 100 per cent physically, he feels stronger than he did before. Toronto FC officials have said privately they had to put the brakes on Defoe, who has acknowledges he is not known for his patience during injury layoffs. Defoes final days at Tottenham were marred by another hamstring injury. "Its a case of just getting it (the hamstring) strong again. Maybe I didnt do that before," he said. "I think now Ive reallly given it time to heal," he added.dddddddddddd Defoe said his style of plays lends itself to hamstring issues -- "sometimes I go from a standing still position to get up to full speed." Toronto has had a spate of hamstring injuries this season with midfielders Jonathan Osorio, Alvaro Rey and Dwayne De Rosario all missing action. The club has said having to train longer than usual on artificial turf because of the harsh winter has not helped matters. Ironically it would have liked to have been able to practise under the bubble on turf Tuesday because of a downpour. But with the bubble about to come down, the lighting system had been dismantled and so they endured the rain outside. The good news is that the walking wounded are returning after the bye week. Osorio is already back in action while Nelsen says Rey, De Rosario and centre back Doneil Henry (knee) are "very close" to returning. Nelsen says the only player definitely out for this weekends game is midfielder Jeremy Hall (Achilles). Striker Bright Dike (Achilles) is also a long-term injury absence. Star U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley, who has been nursing a variety of ailments, is also doing well. Injuries have hampered Nelsen in blending his squad, which features three new designated players in Defoe, Bradley and Brazilian striker Gilberto and as many as five other new starters since last season. Two weeks ago against Colorado, he was unable to assemble a fully healthy bench. While Toronto has given up seven goals in six games, it has scored just six with Defoe accounting for three of them Toronto is getting healthy at the right time. After three games in April, Toronto has six in May including a home-and-away series with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Amway Canadian Championship. Three of the four league games are at home so May represents a chance to harvest points. With Bradley, Brazilian goalie Julio Cesar and possibly Defoe joining their national teams at the end of May ahead of the World Cup, points may be harder to come by later. While Defoe has not yet heard from Hodgson, Cesar says he reached out to Luiz Felipe Scolari to invite him to Toronto after reading that the Brazil coach had visited players in Europe. "I was a little bit jealous," Cesar said with a smile. ' ' '