Texas has found offense late in each of the first two games against Baltimore. The Rangers are hoping to keep getting timely hits as they try to take the finale of this three-game series with the visiting Orioles on Thursday night.
Delino DeShields capped a 4-for-6 night with a walk-off single in the 12th inning that gave the Rangers a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
This came one day after Texas scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth and cut a seven-run lead to just one, but Baltimore escaped with a 12-11 victory.
Each team is looking to win the series on Thursday, and Baltimore has not won a series since late April.
DeShields, who had been sent down to the minor leagues due to his early-season hitting problems, has taken off in this series. He’s 6-for-11 in the first two games and raised his average 40 points to .222.
He’s giving the Rangers’ offense a lift with Joey Gallo (strained oblique) out. Texas couldn’t create much offense Wednesday, but DeShields scored the first run and drove in the other.
The Rangers have won six of their last eight games and are playing better overall. Starter Mike Minor threw 5 2/3 shutout innings in Tuesday’s win and left with a 1-0 lead.
Texas has gotten much more effective starting pitching in the last few weeks.
“Our guys have gotten better,” manager Chris Woodward said in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I think at the start of the year there was some uncertainly about who guys were, what pitches are effective, what opposing hitters are doing. We had newer processes in place.”
Ariel Jurado (2-2, 2.43) starts for Texas in the series finale and has pitched well in his last few starts. He scored a win in his only career appearance versus Baltimore, giving up two runs and six hits in five innings.
David Hess (1-7, 7.36) will start for the Orioles. He gave up seven runs in four innings in his last start, an 8-2 loss to San Francisco. Hess has not won a game since April 1, when he shut out the Blue Jays for 6 1/3 innings.
Hess has made one start against the Rangers, taking the loss last Aug. 3 in Arlington, Texas, when he allowed seven runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk in 3 1/3 innings. The Orioles lost that game 11-3
The Orioles ran into some injury issues in Wednesday’s game.
It started in the first when catcher Pedro Severino had a foul ball hit the top part of his face mask. DeShields hit it, but Severino remained in the game for a few more batters before coming out in favor of Chance Sisco.
Severino suffered a contusion on his head but apparently displayed no signs of a concussion.
Then, second baseman Jonathan Villar was pinch-hit for during a fifth-inning rally. He left due to soreness in his right thumb. Later in the game, outfielder DJ Stewart sprained his ankle when colliding with second baseman Hanser Alberto while trying to catch a ball in foul territory.
After the game, manager Brandon Hyde told MASN television network that it didn’t appear any of the three injuries were serious.
He also said he didn’t think any of the players would need to go on the injured list. Baltimore has been using a three-man bench, and if all three couldn’t play, the Orioles might have to make some player moves.
No matter what happens, though, Hyde liked how his team fought in the Wednesday loss despite wasting numerous scoring chances in the game and leaving 11 on base while going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“We just didn’t get the big hit,” he said in a MASN post-game interview. “We couldn’t scratch any runs … (but) we battled and we scrapped away.”