Rangers Lose Second Straight to Orioles

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

April 4, 2023

Orioles 7, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Apr 4) — The Texas Rangers lost their second straight game to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday by a final score of 7–2. Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, and shortstop Jorge Mateo both homered in the Orioles’ early offensive surge. The series finale between these two clubs is set for Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 PM Central at Globe Life Field. The Orioles have yet to announce their starting pitcher for the finale, while righty Jacob deGrom (0–0, 12.27 ERA) will make his second start of the season for the Rangers.

Orioles’ Offensive Outburst

Rangers starter Andrew Heaney barely had any time to get settled in on the mound in this one. The Orioles scored five runs in the top of the second inning, and two runs in the top of the third inning. Their first run came on a single to left by outfielder Ryan McKenna that drove in Adam Frazier. One batter later, Jorge Mateo sprinted home on a double to right field by Cedric Mullins.

Moments later with McKenna and Mullins on base, Ryan Mountcastle stepped up to the plate. He then hit his second homer of the season to make it 5–0 in favor of the Orioles. In the top of the third inning, Jorge Mateo hit a two-run homer to make it 7–1. It was the second bomb of the series for Mateo The Rangers, meanwhile, got both their runs from two solo home runs. The first one was hit by Adolis Garcia in the bottom of the second inning. The second one was hit by Nathaniel Lowe in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Tough Debut for Heaney

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Rangers starter Andrew Heaney suffered the loss (now 0-1) in his Rangers debut. After surrendering seven runs (all earned) over 2 2/3 innings, he was undone by a five-run second inning that was punctuated by the homer by Mountcastle. This marked the most runs Heaney has allowed in a single outing since 8/12/21. That out came against the Chicago White Sox when Heaney was with the New York Yankees.

This was also the 2nd-shortest start of his career, longer than only a 2 1/3-inning outing on 9/9/17. That start came against the Seattle Mariners when he was with the Los Angeles Angels (2 1/3 IP, 2 R-ER). On Tuesday, he became the 26th and final member of the Rangers’ Opening Day roster to appear in a game this season.

Hip Hip Jorge!

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After Tuesday’s third-inning home run, Jorge Mateo has homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He also ties a career high with an RBI in four straight games (also July 1-5, 2022). Entering play on Tuesday, the only major league players with an RBI in four straight games were Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Adam Duvall of the Boston Red Sox. Mateo has now hit four home runs in seven career games at Globe Life Field. He also has 11 RBI in ten career games against the Rangers.

Bruce Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was asked about Andrew Heaney’s start. He said, “He was a little off, and he had some bad luck too, but the pen stepped up, and gave us the innings we needed”. Bochy was also asked about the statement that the bullpen has made thus far. He said, “They’ve done a terrific job. All of them are stepping up, and doing a really nice job. When you have to go get your starter that early, you have to go through a few guys, but they really saved us”.