De ja vu: Rangers hit four more in Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- Red-hot Mitch Moreland turned in his second consecutive two-homer game as part of a second straight Rangers four-homer night, and Texas held off Baltimore to pick up Tuesday's 8-6 win at Camden Yards.
Moreland drove in four runs, and he has seven RBIs in the first two games of the series, going deep first off Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez in the second inning. He followed that up with a two-run shot in the eighth off reliever Chaz Roe, putting just enough on the ball to clear the left-field fence. Shin-Soo Choo and Robinson Chirinos each chipped in solo shots for a Rangers club that had back-to-back four-homer games for the first time since Sept. 2-3, 2012.
Video: TEX@BAL: Chirinos rips a solo home run to left
"There is no defense for a home run," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "[I] like to see it. They are quick runs."
Video: TEX@BAL: Choo increases the lead with solo homer
Gonzalez lasted just 4 1/3 innings for Baltimore, giving up three homers. Chris Davis went deep twice for Baltimore in the loss, with Manny Machado also hitting a solo homer in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
Video: TEX@BAL: Machado hits an opposite-field solo homer
"You've got to make good pitches, and Miggy got behind a lot tonight and I called some pitches that didn't quite go as I planned," Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said. "At the same time, probably the one home run that cost us the most was Moreland's second one. I don't think he thought he hit it good. I thought it was going to be a popup and it'd been a different game, maybe one-run [deficit] instead of three."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
More from Moreland: A night after posting the sixth multi-home run game of his career, Moreland hit another two blasts on Tuesday. Moreland became the eighth player in club history to have multiple home runs in two straight games, with the last being Mike Napoli from Sept. 27-28, 2011, at the Angels.
"I'm trying to go up there and see it well, get ready to hit," Moreland said. "Couple of them have been maybe a little helped by the ballpark. It's a great hitter's park, so it's fun to come out and be able to do that." More >
Video: TEX@BAL: Moreland hits two homers in win for Rangers
Lewis picks up fourth straight: Rangers starter Colby Lewis was hurt by three dingers, but other than that pitched fairly well. He earned his fourth straight victory while going six innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out three.
"I felt like all night I was struggling to get the ball down," Lewis said. "The slider was flat. The changeup kind of stayed up most of the time. I kept throwing the curveball. I threw a couple of them for strikes. The curveball was up in the zone. It was good to get out of here with a win. Maybe I need to do some assessing on how the ball flies here in Baltimore. Man, when it's hot and humid, it jumps."
Davis heating up: The O's first baseman hits homers in bunches, and the notoriously streaky hitter could be primed to get on a roll. Davis clobbered Lewis' first-inning offering and went deep for another two-run shot on a 1-0 pitch in the third. It was Davis' ninth career multi-homer game, and his second of the season.
Video: TEX@BAL: Davis connects for a second two-run homer
"He's kind of been on one [of his rolls]," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "If you look at the pace he is on, getting close to that halfway point where you just kind of multiply everything times two and you get an idea of where they are, at the end of the year Chris is going to have his moments. He can create a lot of damage in a hurry and really be a force for us." More >
Homers haunt O's again: Gonzalez became the second consecutive starter to struggle to keep the Rangers in the ballpark. The righty gave up a career-high-tying three homers and turned in his shortest non-injury start since May 24.
"Really, the first two innings I felt good, and then after that, I just lost it," Gonzalez said. "Tried to get back to it, but it wasn't really working. I was flying open. The mechanics weren't there today. I felt really good in the 'pen, but it just didn't work out today." More >
QUOTABLE
"This park is notorious for the ball carrying, and that's one of the great things about it as an offensive player, but one of the tough things about it as a defensive player. You know if you get a good night, it's hot and the wind is blowing out a little bit, you square it up and it's going to go." -- Davis, on hitter-friendly Camden Yards
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Tuesday's game marked the seventh time since 2005 that the Rangers have hit four or more homers in a game at Camden Yards.
HAMILTON RETURNS
In his first game since May 31, Josh Hamilton went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and tested his left hamstring with a nice running catch in left field.
Video: TEX@BAL: Hamilton slides to make a nice catch in left
WHAT'S NEXT
Rangers: Texas will send Nick Martinez to the mound in the third game of the series at 6:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Martinez will be looking for his first win since June 9 against Oakland, and his first career win against the Orioles. The right-hander owns a 0-2 record and an 8.71 ERA lifetime against Baltimore.
Orioles: Baltimore will send lefty Wei-Yin Chen to the mound, hoping to pick up the club's first win of the series. Chen has had an impressive season so far, going 3-4 with a 2.90 ERA.
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