WP – W. Chen (4-3) LP – J. Lindblom (1-3)

The Baltimore Orioles got to Josh Lindblom early on in this game. Manny Machado drove in Nate McLouth with a triple to deep centerfield and then scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third to give the Orioles the early lead. Brian Roberts had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, bringing Matt Wieters in to score. Nolan Reimold followed Roberts single with a three run blast to deep left field, scoring Roberts and J.J. Hardy.

The six runs were enough to stake Wei-Jin Chen to a lead as he pitched seven quality innings in his return from the disabled list. Chen held the Rangers in check, with only three hits and three walks. Adrien Beltre did manage to score Ian Kinsler from third on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning. This would be the only run the Rangers managed all night.

Manny Machado went 3-for-5 on the night, giving him his 14th three hit game of the season, that leads the Majors this year. Adam Jones and Reimold both had two hits apiece to round out the hitting. Chris Davis continued to be quiet at the plate, extending his hitless streak to seventeen at-bats.

The Orioles did not need to rely on their bullpen much in this game, something that has been difficult this last week, as the bullpen has cost the Orioles several leads late in games. Tommy Hunter closed the game out, pitching both the eighth and ninth innings.

Josh Lindblom managed to go five and a third innings, giving up all six Orioles runs on nine hits, four walks with one strikeout. Lindblom only got the start due to the injury to Nick Tepesch, getting his second spot start as a long reliever.

The Orioles move to 50-42 on the year and the Rangers drop to 53-38. The Orioles have a chance to split the series tomorrow evening, and then face the Toronto BlueJays for the last series before the All-Star game.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005