Rangers 8, Orioles 6
BALTIMORE -- First baseman Mitch Moreland hit two home runs for the second consecutive game and the Texas Rangers hit four home runs en route to an 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
Moreland belted two two-run homers, one off Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez in the second and another against right-hander Chaz Roe in the eighth. The latter gave Texas (40-38) some crucial insurance and an 8-5 lead.
This was Moreland's seventh career multi-homer game. He finished the night 2-for-3 with four RBI, improving his season totals to 14 homers and 43 RBIs.
It also was the eighth time in club history that a player has recorded multi-homer games in consecutive games.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo both added solo homers off Gonzalez.
The Orioles (41-36) banged out three homers themselves but it was not enough. Right fielder Chris Davis led the way with a pair of two-run shots, both coming off Rangers starter Colby Lewis.
Third baseman Manny Machado added a solo homer off Lewis in the fifth, but the right-hander made it through six innings and earned his fourth straight victory.
Lewis (8-3) gave up five runs on six hits but didn't run into much trouble other than the homers and left with a 6-5 lead.
Right-hander Shawn Tolleson pitched the ninth for his 11th save despite giving up an RBI single to left fielder Travis Snider.
Gonzalez (6-5) never looked sharp. The right-hander gave up six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, including those three homers, in his second start since coming off the disabled list.
The Orioles took a quick 2-0 lead when Davis hit a two-run homer to right-center off Lewis in the bottom of the first. But the Rangers answered right away when Moreland hit a long two-run homer to right off Gonzalez in the top of the second.
Texas then took the lead with two runs in the third on a RBI single by designated hitter Prince Fielder and a double play grounder by third baseman Adrian Beltre.
The Orioles needed just a few minutes to tie it fielder as Davis blasted his second two-run homer to right-center to make it 4-4 in the fourth.
?? Again, the Rangers answered quickly with power when Chirinos and Choo hit solo homers off Gonzalez. The Orioles cut the lead to 6-5 when Machado opened the fifth with his 16th home run.
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter said 2B Jonathan Schoop (sprained right knee), is likely to play with Single-A Frederick and could be optioned out when his rehab assignment ends Friday. The Orioles also could simply activate him. A decision will be made soon. ... According to The Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles entered Tuesday's game having won four shutouts at home in the previous 21 days and that June is the first month the Orioles have thrown at least three shutouts in Baltimore since August 2006. ... The Rangers activated OF Josh Hamilton from the disabled list before the game. He landed there with a strained left hamstring on June 4, retroactive to June 1. Hamilton had a .273 average with the Rangers in seven games this season. In a corresponding move, the Rangers optioned 3B/OF Joey Gallo to Triple-A Round Rock. Gallo had been with the Rangers since June 2 and batted .218 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 25 games. It was his first stint in the majors.