Baltimore @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2011 ) Baltimore 2, Texas 4

THE STORY: The Texas Rangers didn’t put together another offensive barrage like Monday, but they may have gotten more out of their come-from-behind victory in the second game of the series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Rangers received a battling six-inning start from Matt Harrison; the bullpen allowed just one hit in three innings, and they got some outstanding defense and hit in the clutch. The Rangers hope to follow up that satisfying performance today, when they send Alexi Ogando to the mound to try and finish a three-game sweep of the visiting Orioles on Wednesday night. The Orioles swept the Rangers just before the all-star break in 2010. They would take one this time to ease the pain of a 1-7 stretch.

TV: 8:05 p.m. EST, FS-SW (Texas), MASN2 (Baltimore).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Alexi Ogando (8-3, 2.86) vs. Orioles RH Jeremy Guthrie (3-10, 3.93).

Ogando broke a three-game losing streak by beating Florida Friday, giving up two runs in 6 2/3 innings against Florida. He has 73 strikeouts and 22 walks in 97 2/3 innings and right-handed batters are hitting just .158 against him. Ogando has never started against Baltimore, but has pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Guthrie is just 2-2 in six starts this season in which he has allowed one run or less. One of those losses was against Texas early on, when he gave up one run in six innings. Guthrie lost his last start Friday against Atlanta, allowing three earned runs in seven innings, and has only one win since May 21.Guthrie is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA lifetime against Texas in 50 1/3 innings. Josh Hamilton is 5-for-13 with a pair of homers against Guthrie.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (46-41): Nelson Cruz may be warming up again. The right fielder is 9-for-21 with nine RBIs in the last five games. Cruz has a team-leading 20 homers. Michael Young has two straight three-hit games to raise his average to .323 and get within two hits of 2,000 for his career. Hamilton has also turned it up in July, going 8-for-19 the last five games with six RBIs. Shortstop Elvis Andrus is 0-for-15 the last four games, but he made a pair of big plays in the field and his speed and aggression helped him score the winning run Tuesday.

ABOUT THE ORIOLES (36-47): If Matt Wieters hasn’t shown enough examples of why he is an all star yet, the Orioles’ catcher has provided more lately. Wieters, who is throwing out 44.2 percent of runners trying to steal to lead the majors, is 8-for-19 with a home run the last five games. The Orioles had 12 hits Tuesday, but left nine on base and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Vladimir Guerrero had just his second multi-hit game since May 21. Baltimore could also use more from Adam Jones, who is 6-for-30 and without an RBI in seven games.

FINAL PITCH: The Orioles placed outfielder Luke Scott on the disabled list Tuesday with a right shoulder injury. Scott has been just 3-for-35 with one RBI since June 17, dropping his average to .223.