Texas @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2014 ) Texas 3, Baltimore 8
The Texas Rangers’ rotation was already a beleaguered unit upon its arrival in Baltimore, which has been taking advantage of a lot of pitching staffs lately. The Orioles, who have belted seven home runs in their last two contests against the Rangers, look to continue their homer-happy ways Wednesday when the teams continue their four-game set. Baltimore tallied a team-record 46 home runs in June, the last four of which came in its series-opening win Monday.
The Orioles clubbed three more Tuesday, giving them 103 for the season (the second-best mark in the majors) while also extending their multi-homer streak to five games. The Rangers posted their worst ERA in any month since September 2009 in June (4.97) and have surrendered at least six runs in each of their five meetings with the Orioles this season. Texas (37-46) has dropped seven in a row on the road and 11 of 13 overall to fall nine games under .500 for the first time since April 2008.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Texas), MASN2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Miles Mikolas (2013: 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Chris Tillman (7-4, 4.18)
Mikolas, who was acquired from San Diego in the offseason, will draw his first major-league start after making 27 relief appearances for the Padres over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old, who got the nod for Wednesday after Texas designated Joe Saunders for assignment, went 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Round Rock after going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 relief appearances. "I look forward to seeing him (throw). He's adjusted to the job description pretty quickly,” Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux told the team’s official website.
Tillman registered his second consecutive strong outing in Friday’s 4-1 victory, allowing a run on four hits in eight frames against the Tampa Bay Rays. The former second-round pick of the Seattle Mariners sports one of the oddest home-and-road splits in the majors, going 1-4 with a 2.47 ERA in seven turns in Baltimore and 6-0 in 10 road starts despite a 5.53 ERA. Tillman escaped with a no-decision despite recording only three outs in his last starts versus the Rangers on June 5 and is 3-1 with a 4.66 ERA in five all-time outing against them.
WALK-OFFS
1. Baltimore LF Nelson Cruz, who is tied with the Chicago White Sox’s Jose Abreu for the major-league lead with 26 home runs, needs one more to match his total with Texas last season.
2. Mikolas will be the 24th pitcher used by the Rangers in 2014, tying the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels for the most by any team.
3. Orioles DH Steve Pearce, who homered three times in the first two games of this series, has gone deep six times in the last 13 contests – three shy of his total in 170 games from 2010-13.
PREDICTION: Orioles 8, Rangers 3