Rangers overcome miscues, avoid sweep in win over O's
ARLINGTON, Texas - The pieces finally fell into place for the Rangers in Thursday's 8-6 win over Baltimore, although not all of them fit perfectly.
The Rangers blew a 5-0 lead and needed three runs in the seventh, aided by two uncharacteristic errors from Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy.
Hardy's throwing error allowed No. 9 hitter Rougned Odor to advance to second on an infield single. Then Hardy booted a grounder that allowed Odor to score from third and give the Rangers a 6-5 lead.
Hardy had three errors in all for just his second multi-error game in 1,167 career contests.
"Very surprised," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He catches everything he gets to. I've never seen him make a bad throw. As a matter of fact, I've really never seen him make an error. It just goes to show you it can happen to anyone in this game."
The Rangers had their own share of mistakes, two of them by center fielder Leonys Martin.
Martin appeared to misplay a fly ball with two outs in the fifth, allowing the Orioles two score two runs in the inning knot the score at 5-5.
The misplay – ruled a two-run double for Adam Jones - ultimately cost starter Colby Lewis a win, although he blamed himself for walking No. 9 batter Caleb Joseph to start the fifth inning.
"For me, I don't think it should have been in that situation," Lewis said. "I should have gotten the leadoff guy. I put it on myself."
The walk was just part of the struggles Lewis endured in a 98-pitch, five-inning outing. After being handed a 5-0 lead, Lewis gave up a two-run homer to Nick Markakis in the third inning.
"They gave me a big cushion, it's just frustrating from my aspect," Lewis said. "I feel like I'm feeling really, really good. I feel great every time I take the mound, it's just not always seeing the results I want to see."
Martin's other mishap came in the third inning when he was thrown out attempting to steal third with two outs. Michael Choice, who hit a two-run homer the previous inning, was at the plate when Martin took off for third.
Choice's homer, his first since May 25, came on a 3-2 count and gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead. He later had a double for his first game with multiple extra-base hits.
"It felt good, especially to have an at-bat where I kind of battled a little bit before it happened," Choice said of the homer. "Hopefully we can build some momentum on that."
The Rangers are hoping to build some offensive momentum after losing four of their previous five games. Their injury-riddled lineup got a boost when leadoff hitter Shin-soo Choo walked and scored in his first two plate appearances.
Mitch Moreland had a two-run single to get the scoring started and Adrian Beltre continued his hot steak with two hits.
"I'm just looking for consistency, that's all," Washington said. "That group I've got, they're capable of winning ballgames. They've just got to get out there and get consistent."
The game also saw the return of reliever Tanner Scheppers from the disabled list in the eighth inning. Scheppers gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Jones, but later served up a double-play grounder to get out of the inning.
"He was amped up, you could see that," Washington said. "The ball came out free and easy. Coming out of the bullpen, that's what he does. He comes out and he lets it hang out for the one inning he's out there, and he did it for us tonight."
The rest of the bullpen was impressive with Robbie Ross Jr. looking as sharp as he's been all season in the sixth and seventh innings and Joakim Soria nailing down the win in the ninth.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire