Lucroy homers as Rangers dump Orioles
BALTIMORE -- Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo homer, and Ian Desmond added two RBIs as the Texas Rangers earned a 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday to salvage the finale of a three-game series.
Lucroy homered in the second inning to give the Rangers (63-46) a lead they never lost. It was his first homer since he came to Texas from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade on Monday.
Desmond drove in one run with a groundout and another on a single.
Carlos Beltran (single in the fifth inning) and Rougned Odor (double in the eighth) each added an RBI for Texas, which ended a two-game losing streak.
Baltimore (61-46) saw its three-game winning streak end despite solo homers from Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez and Hyun Soo Kim, cutting a four-run deficit to 4-3.
Trumbo leads the major leagues with 31 homers.
A.J. Griffin (5-1) allowed three solo homers to the Orioles but kept them off-balance throughout his 5 2/3 innings with plenty of off-speed stuff. He gave up three runs on five hits and left with a 4-3 lead.
The Rangers then used four relief pitchers to close out the final 3 1/3 innings. Sam Dyson took care of the ninth and earned his 23rd save.
Wade Miley (7-9 overall, 0-1 with Baltimore) made his first start for the Orioles since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. He struggled at times and allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Lucroy hit his first homer with Texas, a one-out solo shot to left-center off Miley.
In the third, the Rangers made it 2-0. Delino DeShields led off with a double, and two outs later, he scored on an Ian Desmond groundout.
Texas added two more runs in the fifth. Desmond got an RBI single on a soft grounder that first baseman Chris Davis appeared to lose momentarily with Shin-Soo Choo running in front of him. The ball then rolled into right and DeShields scored.
Carlos Beltran followed with a bloop to short right that second baseman Jonathan Schoop couldn't catch with his back to the plate. The ball fell in, and Choo scored as the Rangers took a 4-0 lead.
Baltimore quickly cut the margin in half as Trumbo and Alvarez started the bottom of that inning with back-to-back homers. It was the 12th time this season the Orioles hit consecutive home runs.
NOTES: Wade Miley became the first left-hander to start a game for the Orioles this season. Baltimore came into the year with all right-handers in its rotation and stuck with it until Thursday. ... RHP Yovani Gallardo (Friday), RHP Chris Tillman (Saturday) and RHP Dylan Bundy (Sunday) will start in Baltimore's series at Chicago against the White Sox. ... Rangers OF Shin-Soo Choo (lower back inflammation) was activated from the 15-day disabled list. He has been on the DL three times this year. The Rangers sent down LHP Dario Alvarez to open a roster spot for Choo. ... Texas LHP Derek Holland will head to Triple-A Round Rock for a rehab appearance Friday, and he is expected to throw two innings or 30 pitches. He has not pitched since June 20 because of left shoulder inflammation.