Jonathan Schoop's sixth-inning sacrifice fly proved to be the difference as the host Baltimore Orioles defeated the Texas Rangers 1-0 on Saturday night in the second game of their weekend series at Camden Yards.
The sacrifice fly came in an inning where the Orioles drew a walk and were helped by two Texas errors. It snapped a three-game Baltimore losing streak. The teams will finish the first half of the season Sunday afternoon.
Yefry Ramirez was making his fourth major-league start for the Orioles and battled some control issues early but threw five shutout innings. He allowed two hits and struck out seven with three walks but finished with a no-decision.
Brad Brach (1-2) earned the victory thanks to a scoreless sixth. Zach Britton later closed it out in the ninth and got his third save.
For Texas, Martin Perez (2-4) came off the disabled list to pitch for the first time since April 29. He'd been out due to problems with his non-throwing (right) elbow but turned in probably his best effort so far this season.
The left-hander gave up one run on five hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked two, and Baltimore needed a key sixth-inning error to score that run.
Shin-Soo Choo stretched his single-season club record streak of getting on base to 50 straight games when he drew a walk off Ramirez to begin the game. Choo also walked in the third and finished the night 1-for-2.
The Orioles took that 1-0 lead in the sixth. Caleb Joseph drew a leadoff walk, and Tim Beckham followed with a slow infield single up the third-base line. But third baseman Adrian Beltre made a throwing error on the play that let Joseph go to third, and he scored when Schoop sent a sacrifice fly to center. That gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead, and the Rangers made a second error in the inning, but Perez escaped further trouble.
The Rangers threatened in the eighth, putting the first two on, but Mychal Givens picked off pinch-runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second and then retired the next two.
The Orioles also announced that Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson will be joining the team as a special adviser. He drew a standing ovation from the crowd when shown on the video board in the sixth inning.
--Field Level Media
Texas | Baltimore | |
Martin Perez | Player | Yefry Ramirez |
Loss | W/L | No Decision |
7.0 | IP | 5.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 7 |
5 | Hits | 2 |
1.29 | ERA | 0.00 |
Texas | Baltimore | |
Shin-Soo Choo | Player | Danny Valencia |
1 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
1 | TB | 2 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |