For seven innings, this was a taut, low-scoring game. Then Corey Seager ended it with one swing. His three-run homer in the eighth inning broke a two-run game wide open, and the Texas Rangers closed out a 5-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| TEX | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
Seager finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs, his lone hit doing all the damage. Jacob deGrom set the tone in front of him, striking out 9 over 5.0 innings while allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and a walk. DeGrom improved to 8-7 with the win, carrying a 3.87 ERA. The Rangers bullpen backed him up, covering 4.0 innings without allowing a run.
Baltimore struck first when Jackson Holliday homered to right in the top of the first, putting the Orioles up 1-0. Texas answered in the second: Carter grounded into a fielder's choice that brought Duran home to tie it, and Burger's infield single led to a throwing error by shortstop Henderson that let Carter score, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish. That lead held until the eighth, when Seager's homer to right center brought home Osuna and Langford as well, stretching the margin to 5-1.
Kyle Bradish was sharp for most of his outing, going 6.0 innings and allowing 2 runs, none earned, with 5 hits, no walks and 4 strikeouts. But the Orioles bullpen unraveled in the eighth, allowing 3 runs on the Seager homer, and Bradish took the loss to fall to 7-11. Gunnar Henderson went hitless in 4 at-bats and was charged with the error that opened the door for Texas' second run.
The win extended the Rangers' winning streak to four games, improving them to 59-58. Baltimore, meanwhile, dropped its third straight and fell to 56-61. DeGrom, who struck out 9 in the outing, sits at 1,995 career strikeouts, five shy of the 2,000 milestone.