Rangers at Orioles
After getting beat up by the best team in baseball, the Texas Rangers managed to get back on track against the worst team in the majors. The Rangers rebounded from a three-game sweep in Boston by holding on for a 5-4 victory in Friday's series opener in Baltimore and have a chance to hand the Orioles their 70th loss of the season on Saturday night.
Ryan Rua had been 0-for-18 as a pinch hitter in his career but he broke the drought in memorable fashion with a three-run homer as Texas won for only the third time in 11 games this month. Shin-Soo Choo celebrated his 36th birthday by reach base for the 49th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in baseball since 2007. The beating goes on for Baltimore, which wasted Caleb Joseph's three-run double in losing for the 17th time in 20 games. Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop went 2-for-5 in the loss, the seventh time he has collected multiple hits in the past 11 games.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Martin Perez (2-3, 9.67 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Yefry Ramirez (0-3, 3.93)
Perez has been sidelined since the end of April, when he was placed on the disabled list due to discomfort in the surgically repaired elbow on his non-pitching arm. He failed to pitch beyond four innings in three of his five starts this season and has surrendered seven home runs in only 22 1/3 innings. Perez was battered for 13 runs and 16 hits over 10 1/3 innings in a pair of losses to Baltimore last July.
Ramirez remains in search of his first major-league win entering his fifth career appearance and fourth start, as the Orioles have scored only six runs in his four appearances this season. The 24-year-old Dominican was tagged for four runs and nine hits in a season-low four innings versus the New York Yankees on Monday. Ramirez is limiting right-handed batters to a collective .205 average.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rangers RH Keone Kela has converted all 23 save opportunities.
2. Baltimore is 1-16 against AL West opponents.
3. Rangers CF Delino DeShields cleared his concussion protocol and entered as a defensive replacement Friday.