Rangers at Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are picking themselves off the mat following a weekend beating at the hands of the World Series champion Chicago Cubs. Buoyed by back-to-back quality starts for the first time since June 1-2, the Orioles look to make it three straight wins Wednesday night when they continue their four-game set against the visiting Texas Rangers.
Baltimore's offense also received a welcome jolt from first baseman Chris Davis, who had a grand slam and a two-run shot for a career-high six RBIs in a 12-1 drubbing on Tuesday. Davis had been 1-for-14 in his first four games since returning from the disabled list after missing a month with an oblique injury. Texas' offense is stuck in the mud, pushing across six runs over the past four games while losing three in a row. Shin-Soo Choo and Rougned Odor each had two hits Tuesday after being mired in ruts of 2-for-19 and 0-for-19, respectively.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Texas), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Martín Pérez (5-6, 4.55 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (5-7, 6.39)
Perez matched his season high with seven innings last time out at Kansas City, earning the victory by allowing three runs and eight hits to improve to 3-0 over his last five starts. Despite the unbeaten streak, the Venezuelan permitted at least four runs in five of his last seven outings and has yielded at least seven hits in all seven. Mark Trumbo is 5-for-12 with a pair of homers and six RBIs versus Perez.
Gausman appeared to be turning a corner with back-to-back wins on June 27 and July 2, giving up only six hits over 12 1/3 innings, only to follow them up with a pair of clunkers. He gave up six runs on nine hits over four innings at Minnesota on July 7 and was tagged for eight runs in three innings by the Cubs on Friday, escaping with a no-decision each time. Shortstop Elvis Andrus is 5-for-12 against Gausman.
WALK-OFFS
1. Baltimore OF Trey Mancini hit his 15th homer Tuesday, ending a 17-game drought without one.
2. Rangers RF Nomar Mazara is 1-for-13 over the past four games.
3. Orioles OF Seth Smith has homered in each of the first two games of the series, extending his hitting streak to five.