*Photo from the Houston Chronicle*
Texas leads series 2-0
Pitching was a social construct in this game. Leody Taveras drove in two runs, Mitch Garver hit a grand slam, and the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles with a 11-8 victory on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
In two games this series, the Rangers have scored 14 runs. They scored 11 in a wild card sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. Over 4 games in the playoffs, they've combined for 25 runs. It's that kind of power in the lineup that's made them 4-0 this postseason and on the brink of advancing to the ALCS.
Rangers infielder Marcus Semien said of the offense that "It's a pretty relentless attack. You have to beat us in the strike zone. We didn't expand too much. The biggest thing in the postseason is putting the ball in play, working counts and swinging at good pitches. I think we did that the first two games, and we need to continue that heading into Texas. And we just have a really, really good approach, one through nine."
Aaron Hicks gave the Orioles the lead first, making it 2-0 in the first inning with a two run single. In the second, the Rangers took a 5-2 lead on a two run double from Taveras and RBI singles from Garver, Adolis Garcia, and Jonah Heim. In the 3rd inning, Garver broke the game open with a grand slam, making it 9-2 Rangers.
Jorge Mateo hit an RBI single and then scored on a sac fly by Ryan Mountcastle in the 4th, cutting the deficit to 9-4. Taveras scored in the 5th on a groundout by Garver to make it 10-4. Gunnar Henderson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th to make it 10-5. A run scoring groundout by Semien in the top of the 9th made it 11-5. Hicks hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 9th to make it 11-8, but the Rangers slammed the door from there.
Garver said of his grand slam that "I got a good pitch to hit, honestly. I was a little hesitant on the first pitch. I was kind of looking for the slider. Wasn't quite where I wanted it. Worked myself into a count where I could get a fastball. I had a feeling he wasn't going to go offspeed in a 3-1 count with the bases loaded, so I took my shot."
Jordan Montgomery pitched 4 innings and couldn't get an out in the 5th for the Rangers, allowing 5 runs. Cody Bradford got the win by pitching 3 2/3 shutout innings. Josh Sborz finished the 8th before Brock Burke allowed two runs in the 9th. Jose Leclerc allowed one but closed out the win.
Grayson Rodriguez couldn't make it out of the second for the Orioles, allowing 5 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Danny Coulombe finished the inning before Bryan Baker allowed 3 runs. Jacob Webb and Jack Flaherty both gave up one before Tyler Wells and Cionel Perez had scoreless innings. Yennier Cano allowed a run in the 9th.
Hicks said of being down two games that "We’ve got to keep scoring runs. We’ve got to keep putting pressure on them, getting into the bullpen deep. We’ve got to keep doing what we do. We’ve just got to keep pushing forward, because we can’t lose again."
The series shifts to Texas for at least a game 3, taking place on Tuesday night. Nathan Eovaldi starts for the Rangers as they try to stay undefeated and sweep the series. The Orioles haven't announced a starter as they try to win to keep their season alive.
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