Baltimore @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2010 ) Baltimore 6, Texas 1
The Texas Rangers have played so poorly this weekend that even their new hired gun couldn't take out the worst team in major league baseball.
C.J. Wilson will look to help his team avoid an ugly home sweep as he leads the Rangers into Sunday’s finale of their four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
It's the final game for both teams ahead of the three-day All-Star break.
Texas is sputtering to the end of their first-half schedule, losing the first three games of the series to a team that needs a win today to avoid reaching the break with 60 losses. Texas squandered late leads in the first two games and then couldn't muster any offense for Cliff Lee in his Texas debut on Saturday.
Lee went the distance in his first start with the Rangers, but only because he had a reasonable pitch count. He certainly didn't earn a complete game, surrendering six runs on nine hits while striking out just two as the Orioles cruised to a 6-1 victory.
The left-hander, who came to Texas in a six-player deal with the Seattle Mariners earlier this week, has traditionally struggled in the Rangers' home park.
Lee entered Saturday's outing with a 7.62 ERA in seven career starts in Rangers Ballpark, and his debut with the team wasn't the kind of outing that will inspire confidence in Texas fans who were hoping for something better.
Adam Jones, Cesar Izturis and Nick Markakis all had homers for the Orioles, who will capture their first road series in 15 tries so far this season regardless of what happens today. Chris Tillman earned the win, limiting the Rangers' vaunted offense to just two hits over 7 1/3 innings.
The Rangers will rest their hopes of avoiding an embarrassing sweep on the shoulders of Wilson (7-4). The 29-year-old left-hander is coming off a sensational outing against the Cleveland Indians five days ago, in which he allowed just one run on two hits over six innings of a 12-1 rout. It extended his streak of allowing two earned runs or less to six consecutive starts.
Wilson has struggled against the Orioles in his career, going 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA in 12 appearances. His only previous start against Baltimore happened to be the worst of his career, as he was torched for eight runs in just 2 2/3 innings of a 10-5 loss back on Aug. 5, 2005.
He'll be up against Baltimore rookie Jake Arrieta (2-2). A native of Plano, Texas, just 30 miles northeast of Rangers Ballpark, Arrieta pitched well in his last start, allowing a run on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. He wound up with a no-decision as the Orioles went on to lose 7-5 to the Detroit Tigers.
Arrieta has never faced the Rangers in his career.