Moreland having charmed time in Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- Mitch Moreland cracked a small smile as he rounded third base for the second time in Tuesday's 8-6 victory over the Orioles.
The Rangers' first baseman thought he was beat on Chaz Roe's 0-1 pitch, and he jogged to first expecting the ball to end up in Travis Snider's glove in left field. Instead, it ended up in the left-field stands for his second home run of the night, marking his second consecutive two-homer game.
"The ballpark, man, it just kept drifting and it went out," Moreland said. "It's kind of a shock for me, but I will take every one I can get."
Moreland became the eighth player in club history to have back-to-back multi-home run games, and the first since Mike Napoli did so on Sept. 27-28, 2011, against the Angels. Moreland got the Rangers on the board in the second inning with a two-run homer to right field that left no question whether it was staying in the park or not.
His second dinger was another two-run shot that barely made it over the left-field fence. Colby Lewis, who gave up three home runs himself, got a first-hand look at how much of a hitter's park Camden Yards could be.
"Maybe you do some assessing on how the ball flies here in Baltimore because, man, when it's hot and humid, it jumps," he said.
Moreland has now hit safely in 20 of his last 23 games and is batting .326/.354/.663 in that span after Tuesday's 2-for-3 performance that marked his seventh multi-home run game of his career. He led the way for an offense that hit four home runs in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 2-3, 2012.
Video: TEX@BAL: Rangers hit four homers in win over Orioles
Robinson Chirinos led off the fifth with a homer to left field on a 3-2 pitch, and one out later, Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo shot for the second straight night.
The Rangers have now hit eight home runs in two games after hitting just three in their three-game series with Toronto.
"There is no defense for a home run," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "[I] like to see it. They are quick runs. When they come, we will take them. Not going to say anything bad about them."