O’s Power Past Rangers
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BALTIMORE — There’s something about facing the Texas Rangers that seems to bring the Baltimore Orioles to life on offense.
Left fielder Steve Pearce, designated hitter Nelson Cruz and catcher Caleb Joseph all homered for Baltimore as the Orioles kept their recent power display going in an 8-3 victory over the Rangers Tuesday night.
The Orioles (44-39) now have hit seven homers in the first two games of this series and 13 in the five meetings between the two teams. Baltimore has scored 35 runs and gone 4-1 against Texas (37-46) this year.
“Sometimes you go through periods where you get some mistakes and you just miss them, but our guys have been on what mistakes they’ve made,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
For the second straight night, the Orioles hit two homers in the first inning and three overall in the first two. Pearce hit his second straight first-inning homer while Cruz added one later in the inning, and Joseph’s two-run shot in the second off right-hander Nick Martinez (1-6) broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Orioles the lead for good.
The Orioles now are second in the American League with 103 homers, but they’ve also gotten good pitching in this series against a Texas team that can hit. Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez held the Rangers to one run in
eight innings Monday, and spot starter T.J. McFarland came through in this contest.
McFarland (1-1) made his first start of the season — and second in his career — due to right-hander Bud Norris (groin strain) being on the disabled list. The left-hander gave up two runs on seven hits in five innings and threw effectively.
“Obviously coming in in the first inning as opposed to the sixth or seventh is (different), but nothing really changed,” McFarland said. “My mindset was still going out there and throwing strikes and doing exactly what I have been doing.”
Right-handers Ryan Webb, Tommy Hunter, Darren O’Day plus left-hander Zach Britton combined to hold the Rangers (37-46) to one run on three hits over the final four innings. Texas actually outhit the Orioles, 10-8, but the Rangers went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and grounded into three inning-ending double plays.
The only negative for the Orioles is they stayed one game behind first-place Toronto in the American League East as the Jays also won on Tuesday.
The Orioles took a 4-2 lead on Joseph’s two-run homer to left with two outs in the bottom of the second. That was their third homer of the game, and they never trailed again.
They then broke it open with a four-run fourth. Joseph reached when shortstop Elvis Andrus fumbled what could have been an inning-ending double-play grounder with the bases loaded and one out.
“I just took my eyes too quick off the ball and it hit, I think, in the end of the glove,” Andrus said. “No excuse about it. I have to make that play. I have to finish that inning right there.”
That error let one run in, and right fielder Nick Markakis followed with a two-run double. Pearce then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left for the fourth run of the inning and an 8-2 lead.
Pearce started the scoring in the first inning. He battled Martinez through a 10-pitch at-bat and sent a fly ball that left fielder Shin-Soo Choo tried to catch right at the foul pole. Choo leaped, and the ball barely got over his glove — and withstood a crew-chief review on video — to put the Orioles on top 1-0.
Cruz, on his 34th birthday, gave Baltimore a 2-0 lead two batters later when he blasted a solo homer to center against his former team. He’s among the American League leaders in home runs.
“I like to celebrate with homers,” Cruz said with a smile. “A homer and a victory; that was a nice day.”
The Rangers tied the game in the second when designated hitter Adam Rosales lined a two-run double to right in his first major league at-bat this season. It was all Orioles after that.
“It’s always tough when you don’t win ballgames,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “I believe in the guys in the clubhouse, and we’ll just keep fighting. That’s all we can do.”
