Texas @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2015 ) Texas 2, Baltimore 4
The Baltimore Orioles figured out the way to beat the Texas Rangers – keep Mitch Moreland in the ballpark. The Orioles will try to hold Moreland down for one more day and earn a split of a four-game series when they host the Rangers in the finale on Thursday.
Moreland homered twice in each of the first two games and totaled seven RBIs as Texas grabbed a pair of wins by a combined 16-7. All of that production came against right-handed pitching, and Moreland went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts against lefties Wei-Yin Chen and Zach Britton on Wednesday. The Orioles will have to find a way to get the first baseman out with a right-hander when Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the finale, opposite Rangers ace Yovani Gallardo. The Rangers need a win on Thursday to snap a string of three straight series losses.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Texas), MASN2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Yovani Gallardo (7-6, 2.72 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (1-0, 4.24)
Gallardo has not allowed a run in 20 1/3 innings over his last three starts and scattered three hits over 8 2/3 innings at Toronto on Saturday. The Mexico native allowed two or fewer runs in his last seven outings and has not yielded a home run in that span. Gallardo is 3-4 with a 3.14 ERA in nine starts on the road this season.
Gausman will be recalled before the game to make the spot start – his second in the majors this season. The 24-year-old LSU product last took the mound for the Orioles at Toronto on June 20 and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in five innings without factoring in the decision. Gausman allowed one hit over three scoreless innings in a tune up for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rangers 1B Prince Fielder is 2-for-13 in the series to drop his batting average to .342.
2. Orioles 1B Chris Davis has hit safely in 11 straight games.
3. Texas OF Josh Hamilton (hamstring) got the day off on Wednesday but is expected to return for the finale.
PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Orioles 1