Rangers at Orioles
After battling injuries and ineffectiveness for the first three-plus months of the season, Jonathan Schoop this month is looking more like the young player who appeared in his first All-Star Game last season. The Baltimore Orioles' second baseman attempts to get his team a rare series victory on Sunday, when it hosts the Texas Rangers for the rubber match of their three-game set.
Schoop wasn't overly effective early in the season before an oblique injury cost him 20 games from mid-April to early May, and his batting average dipped to as low as .197 by the end of June after hitting .144 for the month. The 26-year-old has yet to find his power stroke - he has hit only 10 home runs in 2018 after belting a career-high 32 a season ago - but he singled and drove in the game's only run in Saturday's victory, albeit lowering his July average to .377. While Baltimore used Schoop's bat and a combined four-hitter to win for only the fourth time in 21 contests, Texas suffered its fifth shutout loss of the campaign to fall to 3-9 this month. Shin-Soo Choo has been largely unaffected by the Rangers' recent struggles, however, as he walked twice and singled on Saturday to extend his club-record on-base streak for a single season to 50 games.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Texas), MASN2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Mike Minor (6-5, 4.56 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Chris Tillman (1-5, 10.46)
After carrying a 5.76 ERA into June, Minor is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA over his last six starts while allowing three earned runs or fewer each time. The 30-year-old Vanderbilt product's lone loss over that time came Monday in Boston when he yielded two runs in 5 1/3 frames - failing to last six innings for the first time since his resurgence. Minor will make his first career start versus Baltimore but has worked 3 1/3 scoreless frames across three career relief appearances.
With Andrew Cashner injured and his replacement, Jimmy Yacabonis, suffering from an illness, Baltimore is reportedly leaning towards starting Chris Tillman, who was placed on the disabled list in May with a lower back strain. The former All-Star has struggled in each of his four stops during his rehab stint, going 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA in five outings. Tillman made it through 6 1/3 innings in his most recent minor-league start for Single-A Frederick on Tuesday, taking the loss after yielding six runs (four earned).
WALK-OFFS
1. The Orioles announced Saturday that 81-year-old Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson will serve as a special adviser to the team.
2. Choo is the seventh player since 2001 to have an on-base streak of at least 50 games and first since Kevin Millar in 2007.
3. Texas 3B Adrian Beltre singled in four at-bats Saturday and is one hit shy of tying Alex Rodriguez (3,115) for 19th place on the all-time list.