Rangers Beat Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas left-hander Cole Hamels managed to work through a rough patch, got a lead and then turned the screws on the Baltimore Orioles.
Hamels struck out 10 and limited the Orioles to two hits in eight innings in the Rangers’ 4-1 victory on Friday night.
Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who reached base safely in a 32nd consecutive game, had a home run and two RBIs, and catcher Chris Gimenez’s homer in the fifth represented the go-ahead run.
Center fielder DeLino DeShields added a run-scoring triple for Texas (66-61), which remained a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the chase for the second wild-card spot in the American League. Texas entered the day five games back of Houston in the AL West.
Right-hander Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save of the season.
If not for a hiccup in the fourth inning, Hamels (2-1) might have gone the distance.
Hamels, acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, walked three in the fourth, including first baseman Chris Davis with the bases loaded to account for Baltimore’s only run.
After that, Hamels retired 14 of the last 15 hitters he faced, including 13 straight.
“Being able to go deep in the ballgame and hopefully giving the bullpen a break, and being
able to limit the runs is what I like to do,” Hamels said. “I’m here to be able to do that. When you’re able to do that, you’re able to win a ballgame. We got huge contributions with the hits and that’s how you win.”
The outing was his best with the Rangers, with his final line reading one run, two hits and four walks. The game marked the 30th of his career with 10 or more strikeouts and matched the Rangers’ season high by a starting pitcher.
In Hamels’ last two starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
Baltimore (63-65) lost for the ninth time in 11 games and dropped three games behind Texas in the wild-card standings.
Right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-6) took the loss for Baltimore (63-65), giving up four runs, nine hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings.
“I thought Gaus presented himself well. We’re just not giving our pitchers any margin of error,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ve had our struggles offensively and it certainly compounds it when you see a pitcher that good.
“He was good and we weren’t very good. That’s a bad combination.”
The Orioles took advantage of Hamels’ wildness to score in the fourth but couldn’t get a timely hit.
Third baseman Manny Machado and left fielder Steve Pearce walked to load the bases with one out. Hamels struck out center fielder Adam Jones but walked Davis, who was credited with the RBI.
“That’s why pitchers like him are good,” Showalter said. “They don’t give that up. We just haven’t been putting anything together.”
The Rangers evened the score with Choo’s home run in the bottom of the fourth and took a lead with two outs in the fifth with Gimenez’s homer to center and Choo’s RBI fielder’s choice that scored second baseman Hanser Alberto.
Alberto got into scoring position from first on DeShields’ perfectly executed hit-and-run, hitting through the open hole on the right side as the second baseman went to cover second.
“Giving away free passes, I know you’re playing against a very good ballclub, at the same time you want to make guys earn their hits and their bases, especially the runs,” Hamels said. “The way I go out there I like to challenge guys and not give guys the free pass.
“If the guy hits them, it’s easier to accept. Once you’re doing that, you then have to kick it in gear and focus a little more because that’s not the game plan or the way I want to pitch.”
