Andrew Heaney gave up one run and four hits over seven innings to help the Texas Rangers post a 5-3 victory over the host Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
The stint was Heaney’s longest of the season as he helped Texas win its fourth straight game. Heaney (4-3) gave up four hits and one walk while striking out three as he lowered his ERA to 3.76.
Jonah Heim had three hits for the Rangers, who won Friday’s series opener, 12-2. Marcus Semien had two hits and two RBIs.
Austin Hays homered for the Orioles.
Baltimore’s Dean Kremer pitched 6 1/3 innings, but allowed five hits and a pair of walks, leading to three earned runs. Kremer (5-2) entered the contest with a 3-0 record and 1.96 ERA in the month of May.
Both pitchers opened the matchup with remarkable effectiveness, as neither side put a runner on base in the first inning. A walk to Texas’ Adolis Garcia began the second, however. Kremer allowed the game’s first run soon after, on Robbie Grossman’s single to right field that scored Garcia from third base.
Garcia delivered once more in the bottom of the second for the Rangers, as Baltimore put runners on first and second with two outs. Adam Frazier lined a pitch to right field, where Garcia promptly relayed the ball to home plate, throwing out James McCann, maintaining Texas’ 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, Heim extended the Rangers’ lead to 2-0, driving in Josh Jung, who opened the inning with a double. A two-run seventh allowed Texas additional breathing room, as the first two batters Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker faced recorded hits. Leody Taveras doubled, pushing Grossman to third, moments before Semien cleared the bases with an RBI single to left field.
The Orioles had three hits off Heaney through the first three innings, but did not record another until the seventh. Heaney struck out three batters in that three-inning span between the fourth and the sixth, before Hays erased the shutout, leading off the seventh with a solo home run.
Down 5-1, Baltimore rallied with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, with consecutive doubles from Ryan Mountcastle and Ramon Urias. Each drove in a run, cutting the deficit to two, but Texas reliever Will Smith put an end to the rally, striking out James McCann for the final out.
–Field Level Media
