The Baltimore Orioles embarked on their 10-game road trip Friday night in Arlington, Texas and kicked it off with a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers (58-58). The loss was particulary impactful because the Rangers currently hold the third AL wild card spot, a spot coveted by at least five teams including the Orioles.
What was just a one game below .500 record has now gone the wrong way as the Orioles are now, once again, four games below .500.
Shane Baz (4-11) did all that he could do in Friday’s start. He threw 93 pitches, 66 for strikes, over all 8.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 1 and struck out 9. At one point Baz sat down 10 consecutive Texas batters before giving up a pair of runs in the sixth inning. The inning began with an Elias Diaz single; he then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Joc Pederson then hit a two-run homerun down the right field line. That would prove to be Baz’s only mistake on the night.
The Orioles scored their lone run in the second inning on a Leody Taveras (2 for 4) double and a Coby Mayo (1 for 4) RBI-single.
Taveras was also involved in a pivotal play in the ninth inning. One first following his lead-off single, Taveras attempted to score on a one-out double down the right field line by Christian Franklin (1 for 2). Brandon Nimmo fielded the ball and threw a perfect strike to the cut-off man, Nicky Lopez, who relayed it to home where Taveras was ruled out. The play at the plate was upheld upon review. Christian Encarnacion-Strand struck out swinging to end the game.
The Orioles left 8 men on base and went 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position. The month of August has not been a good one for the team as they have scored only 10 runs while going 2-4 in the first six games of the month. This trend needs to change and change soon if the Orioles want to play any type of meaningful baseball after September 27th.
2026 Record: 56-60
Next Game: Sat. 8/8 @ 7:15 pm @ Texas Rangers (FOX)
