The Sports Xchange
Jul 28, 2017
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Adrian Beltre inched closer to 3,000 career hits and Nomar Mazara had a career-high three doubles as the Texas Rangers pounded Baltimore 8-2 on Friday night at Globe Life Park.
Mazara's two-run double in the first inning got the offense going as Texas never looked back in support of Andrew Cashner (6-8). Beltre also had a hand in the rout, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs to put him at 2,998 career hits.
The Orioles, who swept a four-game series against Texas earlier this month, have now lost three straight and five of their last seven.
Texas led 8-0 after five innings, scoring all eight runs against Baltimore starter Chris Tillman (1-6).
The first three Texas batters reached in the first inning and Mazara's first double gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. The Rangers added three runs in the third as Elvis Andrus hit a two-run homer and Beltre's broken-bat flare pushed the lead to 5-0.
Texas ended Tillman's night in the fifth. Beltre's RBI single increased the lead to 6-0. Carlos Gomez added a two-run single off reliever Richard Bleier to close the books on Tillman and up the Texas lead to 8-0.
Tillman was charged with eight runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. The eight runs allowed were a season high as he came into the game having allowed six total runs in his last three starts.
The offense was more than enough for Cashner, who allowed just one run in seven innings as he won consecutive starts for the first time this season. Four of the hits allowed by Cashner were singles.
Jonathan Schoop ended Cashner's shutout bid with a two-out homer to left in the sixth inning. He struck out four in notching his fourth consecutive quality start.
Mazara led the 10-hit Texas attack by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Andrus also had two hits and scored twice.
Baltimore finished with six hits and has scored just 12 runs in the first four games of its road trip. Welington Castillo had two singles and Chris Davis delivered an RBI single in the eighth.
NOTES: The Rangers will go with RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx as the starter for Saturday's game. ... Orioles 2B Jonathan Schoop leads the American League with 19 RBIs since the All-Star break. ... The third-inning single by Baltimore C Welington Castillo was the 500th hit of his career.