Rangers 8, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE -- Texas first baseman Mitch Moreland hit two of his team's four home runs and the Rangers cooled down the Baltimore Orioles with an 8-1 victory Monday night.
Catcher Carlos Corporan and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo also went deep for Texas, which tied a season high for homers in a game. The Rangers snapped Baltimore's four-game winning streak.
Staked with an early lead, Wandy Rodriguez (5-3) kept the Orioles lineup off-balance for most of his outing. The left-hander allowed one run on eight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over five-plus innings.
Moreland has 12 homers and tied designated hitter Prince Fielder for the team lead. Choo finished with three hits as the Rangers won for just the third time in 10 games.
Left fielder Joey Gallo got his first career triple that knocked in three runs and increased the Rangers lead to 8-1 in the seventh.
Orioles right-hander Bud Norris (2-7) tied a career high by allowing the four home runs. Entering the game, he had not allowed more than one homer in any of his previous 10 starts this season. Norris was charged with five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and a walk over six innings.
Baltimore lost for just the second time in 12 games at Camden Yards this month.
Norris struggled early and never appeared to find a comfort zone. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Moreland hit a deep drive that caromed off the right-field wall. Moreland was initially ruled out after sliding late into second base. However, a review that took 1:44 showed the ball cleared the top of the fence for a homer.
Another solo shot by Corporan increased the lead to 2-0 in the third. The Rangers continued to pound Norris and Moreland's two-run homer in the fourth provided a 4-0 lead. It was the sixth multi-homer game of Moreland's career.
An inning later, Norris gave up his fourth homer when Choo led off with a long shot to center.
The Orioles finally got on the board in the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out and center fielder Adam Jones singled to cut the margin to 5-1. However, Rodriguez struck out designated hitter Chris Davis and got a pop-out by right fielder Delmon Young to end the threat.
NOTES: Rangers OF Josh Hamilton, who has been on the disabled list since June 4 with a left hamstring strain, expects to be back in the lineup Tuesday. ... RHP Kevin Gausman will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to start Thursday in the series finale for Baltimore, manager Buck Showalter confirmed. ... After LHP T.J. McFarland was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk following Sunday's doubleheader, the Orioles entered the series with a six-man bullpen.