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 Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, Nelson Cruz and David Murphy also connected and the Texas Rangers rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Toronto 6-4 on Sunday.
Making his second start since missing 31 games with a right triceps injury, Johnson allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out four.
Toronto's relievers were worn out after combining for 11 innings of work in Saturday's 18-inning win, but Johnson couldn't go deep enough to give the bullpen a day off.
"They made him work and he threw a lot of pitches," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Ideally we were looking for more innings, but that didn't happen."
Johnson didn't allow a hit until Cruz's two-out homer in the fourth. Murphy followed with a walk and scored on a double by Chris McGuiness, the first hit and RBI of his career.
Johnson left the dugout after the fourth to have trainers examine a blister on his middle finger. He said the blister didn't affect his performance, adding that he doesn't expect it to keep him from making his next start.
"I'm not going to make excuses and make that the reason why I was throwing balls and walking people," Johnson said. "I've still got to make pitches and get outs."
Johnson said he was struggling with his command even before the blister popped up.
"I was kind of all over the place," he said. "I wish I could narrow it down and just get rid of that and be able to throw the ball anywhere I want with my fastball anytime, any location. It seems like that will come and go."
Neal Cotts (2-0) worked one inning for the win and Beltre hit an opposite-field shot to right off Neil Wagner for his 14th homer of the season. The Rangers recorded their biggest comeback of the year, avenging Saturday's grueling 4-3 loss.
Wagner (1-1) had pitched 7 2-3 scoreless innings since being promoted from Triple-A Buffalo on May 29.
Rangers closer Joe Nathan, who warmed up nine times without ever coming into the game Saturday, had enough energy left to earn his 19th save in 20 chances. He helped the Rangers avoid a three-game sweep and their first four-game losing streak of the season.
"I told them I didn't feel my best at the beginning of the day, but I was definitely good to go," Nathan said. "It actually surprised me how good I did feel when I got out there. This is the best I've felt all year. Like I've always said, adrenaline is a great drug."
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Cruz hit a solo homer in the fourth, his team-leading 15th. He finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Beltre went 2 for 4 with a walk, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Adam Lind hit a three-run homer for the Blue Jays, who had won three straight.
Pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis walked to begin the bottom of the ninth and advanced to second when Elvis Andrus bobbled Munenori Kawasaki's grounder to shortstop for an error.
Both runners advanced on Melky Cabrera's sacrifice bunt before Jose Bautista struck out on three pitches, then was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Gary Darling. Bautista jawed with Darling, then tossed his bat, helmet and elbow pad on the field in protest before leaving. The ejection was his first of the season.
Nathan closed it out by getting Edwin Encarnacion to pop out to second.
The Blue Jays took a 4-0 lead with a two-out rally in the third. Cabrera walked, Bautista reached on an infield single when second baseman Jurickson Profar slipped, and Encarnacion hit an RBI single. Lind followed with a homer to center, his sixth.
The Rangers cut it to 4-3 on Cruz's RBI single in the fifth, then tied it against reliever Juan Perez in the sixth. Leury Garcia scored from third when catcher Josh Thole made an errant throw to second on Craig Gentry's stolen base.
Gentry went to third on the play but was called out for leaving the bag too soon on shallow pop fly by Andrus, mistakenly thinking the ball had dropped in for a hit.
Beltre's two-out homer gave the Rangers the lead in the seventh, and Murphy added some insurance by going deep on Dustin McGowan's first pitch of the eighth, his eighth homer of the season.
Rangers rookie right-hander Justin Grimm allowed four runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked three and struck out six.
NOTES: Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said SS Jose Reyes (left ankle) should be ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment within the next 10 days. ... The Blue Jays recalled RHP Thad Weber from Triple-A Buffalo to replace RHP Brad Lincoln, who was optioned to Triple-A after pitching four innings Saturday. Weber was optioned back to Buffalo after the game, clearing a spot for LHP Darren Oliver (shoulder) to come off the disabled list before Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox. ... Gibbons will skip Monday's game to attend his son's high school graduation. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale will take over. ... Attendance was 42,722, putting Toronto over 1 million after 33 home games. It's the quickest the Blue Jays have reached the mark since 1997.
[Associated
Press; By IAN HARRISON]
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