Rangers at Orioles (1st)
The Texas Rangers own the best record in the majors thanks in part to
outfielder Josh Hamilton, who matched a major league record with four
home runs on Tuesday and set an American League mark with 18 total bases
in a 5-for-5 performance. The Baltimore Orioles, who owned the top
record in the majors after winning their fifth straight Sunday, have
been trounced by a combined score of 24-6 in the first two games against
the Rangers.
Hamilton leads the majors in home runs (14) and
RBIs (36), and is batting .406, tops in the AL. He was slowed down by
Mother Nature as Wednesday's game was rained out, setting up Thursday's
doubleheader.
The Orioles have
surrendered five of those home runs and 10 RBIs in the first two games
of the series. Baltimore had allowed an average of 2.2 runs in the 13
games prior to the Rangers showing up at Camden Yards. The one highlight
for the Orioles has been J.J. Hardy, who is 10-for-16 with three homers
over the last three games.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FSSW (Texas), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Colby Lewis (3-1, 2.97 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (2-0, 2.76 ERA)
Lewis
had allowed two runs or less in each of his first five starts but was
lit up for six runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings at Cleveland last
weekend. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.53 ERA in his career against
Baltimore. Hardy is 3-for-9 with a home run off Lewis while Mark
Reynolds is 3-for-6 with a pair of home runs off the veteran.
Chen
has made a successful conversion to the major leagues but is coming off
his toughest outing - a five-inning effort at Boston last week in which
he allowed a season-high three earned runs. The Japanese rookie has
never faced Hamilton but has held left-handed batters to a .250 average
without a home run and only one extra-base hit.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Elvis Andrus was on base for each of Hamilton’s home runs Tuesday and has reached safely in 26 straight games.
2. Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre (hamstring) has started at designated hitter in each of the first two games of the series.
3.
Hamilton has extra-base hits in six consecutive at-bats, one shy of the
major league record set by Cleveland's Elmer Smith in 1921 and the
Chicago White Sox' Earl Sheely in 1926.