Orioles 6, Rangers 5 (Game 1)
Baltimore became the first American League team in history to open with home runs in three consecutive at-bats, then held on to beat visiting Texas in the opener of a doubleheader.
The Orioles teed off on Texas starter Colby Lewis (3-2), kicking things off in the bottom of the first inning with consecutive solo shots from Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis. Baltimore is the fourth team in the majors to accomplish the feat, and the first since the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007.
Lewis cruised after that, retiring 18 consecutive batters before surrendering a solo home run to Adam Jones and the eventual game-winning two-run homer to Wilson Betemit.
Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) held the Rangers mostly in check, surrendering a pair of runs on six hits over seven strong innings.
The Rangers staged a late rally, closing to 6-5 in the top of the ninth
on a one-out, three-run homer from pinch-hitter David Murphy. But
Orioles closer Jim Johnson got Ian Kinsler to ground out before striking
out Elvis Andrus looking to record his ninth save.
The longballs were the only hits Lewis allowed all afternoon in an otherwise dominant performance. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out 13 while walking only one - a free pass to Matt Wieters, who came around to score on Betemit's fifth home run of the season.
The other Ranger offense came on a Yorvit Torrealba run-scoring single in the second inning and an Adrian Beltre RBI single in the eighth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Orioles improved to 5-1 in Chen's starts. ... The bottom third of the Baltimore lineup finished 0-for-8 with four strikeouts. ... Lewis has surrendered 11 home runs through his first six starts. ... Baltimore's last five-homer game was June 30, 2010 against the Oakland Athletics.