The Baltimore Orioles will carry a modicum of confidence with them when they play the Texas Rangers on Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Baltimore heads on the road after a 5-1 victory at home over Tampa Bay on Sunday to clinch a three-game series win over the Rays, who had been one of MLB’s hottest teams heading into the set.
In a three-game series in Baltimore last week, the Rangers took two out of three.
The opener will be a battle of left-handers as the Orioles will send Trevor Rogers (1-0, 1.62 ERA) to the hill against Patrick Corbin (4-7, 4.24). The two faced off last Monday, with Rogers coming out on top in a 6-0 win.
Texas is coming off a 6-4, 12-inning loss to Seattle in Sunday’s rubber game. All three of the games in the set with the Mariners were decided in extra innings.
Rogers pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and walking none while striking out four to beat Texas. It was Rogers’ second start after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on June 17 and his third start in the Majors this season. It was the first time a Baltimore starter had pitched at least eight innings since 2023.
“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Baltimore Tony Mansolino said about Rogers. “As a coach, you love to see the guys walk around and kind of stick their chest out and feel good about themselves. I think that’s kind of where Trev is at right now.”
Rogers is 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers, allowing six runs on 13 hits over 20 1/3 innings while striking out 16 and walking four. His first two appearances versus Texas came in 2022 and 2024 when he pitched for Miami.
The Orioles have been a winning team (21-19) since Mansolino took over as interim manager after Brandon Hyde was fired on May 17.
“We’ve had urgency this whole time. We’ve been accountable the whole time,” Mansolino said Sunday. “We’re trying to re-think ways to do better constantly.”
Corbin heads to the mound for this 15th start of the year, with his most recent outing against the Orioles. He surrendered five runs on nine hits (both season highs) over five innings while walking none and striking out six.
“I felt great coming in,” Corbin said after the loss in Baltimore. “They got a couple hits on my slider, and then when I was forced to go to the fastball, they took advantage of it. And kind of, that was the story of the game. But overall, I felt pretty good. We attacked guys. Sometimes, even if you’re not on the right side of the game, you can do your job by helping (the bullpen) out a little bit.”
Corbin has lost five of his past six decisions and has just one win over his last seven appearances. He is 1-6 with a 5.57 ERA in 10 lifetime appearances (nine starts) against the Orioles, surrendering 33 runs (32 earned) on 64 hits and 10 walks over 51 2/3 innings. He has 47 strikeouts in those games.