BALTIMORE (AP) -- After the Baltimore
Orioles repeatedly failed to get a clutch hit, the Texas Rangers got one
after another in a big inning that ultimately decided a duel between AL
playoff contenders.
Ian Kinsler capped a six-run sixth with a
bases-loaded double, and the Rangers rolled to an 8-5 victory Monday
night to move 15 games over .500 (52-37) for the first time since May
25.
"My team is very confident right now,"
manager Ron Washington said. "We just try to go out every day and play
the best game we can. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but we
certainly don't question things. We just try to play good baseball."
Kinsler matched his career high with
four RBIs, including three in the sixth against former teammate Scott
Feldman (0-1) when the Rangers turned a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 lead.
"He came up in that situation and delivered," Washington said of Kinsler.
Baltimore, conversely, stranded 10 and went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
"The game turned on a big inning, and we were unable to come back from it," Baltimore's Adam Jones said.
The victory improved Texas' road record
to 25-18, best in franchise history after 43 games. The Rangers have
won seven of their last eight on the road.
It was the first game between the teams
since Baltimore eliminated Texas from the AL playoffs with a 5-1 win
last October. Not counting that defeat, the Rangers have won 11 of 14
against the Orioles.
Derek Holland (7-4) allowed five runs,
three earned, and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings for Texas. He struck out Matt
Wieters and major-league home run leader Chris Davis three times
apiece.
"I felt good, everything was good, but
for the most part, I really have to pitch better than that," said
Holland, who threw a career-high 125 pitches. "The guys gave me some
runs and I gave them right back up. Give Wash credit for letting me stay
out there. He had confidence in me and I have confidence as well. I
just didn't get the job done."
Joe Nathan worked a perfect ninth for his 30th save, tied for the AL lead.
Wieters homered and Manny Machado had
three hits for the Orioles. Davis and Wieters both struck out four
times, the last times against Nathan in the ninth.
Making his home debut after being
obtained in a July 2 trade with the Chicago Cubs, Feldman went up
against the team he played with for eight seasons through 2012. The
right-hander yielded seven runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.
The key, of course, was the sixth.
A.J. Pierzynski doubled in a run and
Elvis Andrus chased Feldman with an RBI single for a 4-3 lead. Engel
Beltre greeted Troy Patton with a run-scoring single before Kinsler
doubled into the left-field corner.
"That sixth inning was a rough one,"
the right-hander said. "Made some decent pitches, just seemed like
everything they were hitting that inning kind of was like in a great
spot."
Wieters hit his 12th homer, a two-run drive in the seventh, to get Baltimore to 8-5.
The Orioles went 0 for 7 with runners
in scoring position over the first three innings, and although they came
back to take the lead, the squandered opportunities cost them in the
end.
"Yeah, we had our chances," Wieters said. "We were able to get guys on with no outs and just couldn't quite get them in."
Texas went up 1-0 in the third when Andrus hit a leadoff single and scored on a two-out single by Kinsler.
The Rangers added a run in the fourth
on an RBI single by Mitch Moreland. Feldman avoided further damage by
getting Andrus to hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases
loaded.
Baltimore took a 3-2 lead in the bottom
half. A walk, a double and a throwing error by Moreland on Brian
Roberts' RBI grounder to first base produced two runs, and Machado added
a two-out RBI single. With the bases loaded and two outs, Holland
struck out Wieters for the third time.
NOTES:
Texas has scored at least five runs in a season-high five straight
games. ... Orioles LHP Zach Britton will start Tuesday against Rangers
LHP Martin Perez (2-1, 1.85 ERA). In his only other start against Texas,
in April 2011, Britton threw 7 2-3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
... Orioles LHP Wei-Yin Chen (right oblique strain) will come off the DL
on Wednesday and start against Texas, manager Buck Showalter said. Chen
hasn't pitched since May 12. ... Kinsler was thrown out trying to steal
second, the sixth time in 10 tries he's been caught this season. ...
Machado was assured his 35th multihit game -- tied for the AL lead -- by
the third inning.
