Four...and Counting? Rangers Lose 4-0

A big inning from the Orioles and a complete lack of offense led to a fourth straight loss for the Rangers. Brian Roberts (above) knocked in two runs and scored another for Baltimore in the pivotal seventh inning. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

The Texas Rangers (67-53) are having a hell of a time doing much right on this east-coast road trip. Losing three straight to the Tampa Bay Rays is one thing, but starting out a four game series with the Baltimore Orioles (43-79) with a shutout loss is a whole different kind of ugly for this team.

 The Rangers' offense was completely stifled as Orioles' starter Brian Matusz (W, 5-12), who had allowed 11 runs in 5 1-3 innings over two starts against the Rangers this season, put the clamps on Ranger hitters. Matusz shut the Rangers out for a career-high eight innings, striking out six, while allowing only five hits.

"It definitely felt good out there today, especially coming off two bad outings against Texas this year," Matusz said. "It's a lineup that's really hurt me in the past."

For the Rangers, starter Colby Lewis (L, 9-10) managed to pitch his way out jam early, striking out Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis and infielder Ty Wigginton back-to-back with the bases loaded in the third, but came up short in the seventh inning. With runners on the corners and only one out, Orioles' designated hitter Corey Patterson socked the second pitch he saw into center for the first run of the game. After coaxing a groundout from Cesar Izturis, Lewis allowed Brian Roberts to crank one to right for a double, scoring two runs. Lewis was pulled and Markakis followed with a single off reliever Darren Oliver, scoring Roberts and putting Baltimore ahead for good at 4-0. Overall, Lewis didn't pitch great, but he pitched well enough to keep his team in the game for 6 2-3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits.

"I felt like I made a pretty good pitch to Roberts," Lewis said. "It didn't go my way. It's just the situation we're in."

The "situation" Lewis is referring to is the fact that Texas has now lost five straight games against the O's, six straight on the road, and four straight overall. It's easy to see why the team is struggling, the Rangers have allowed an average of seven runs per game during the four-game skid.

The L.A. Angels won against the Boston Red Sox yesterday by a score of 7 to 2 and are, along with the Oakland A's, now seven games back in the American League West. Texas needs to wake up quick or they may find themselves a whole lot closer than they expected to second place by the end of the month.

These two teams go at it again Friday night with a 6:05 p.m. start time. Texas sends C.J. Wilson to the mound, while Baltimore will start Jake Arrieta (4-4, 5.23).

News and Notes:

• The Rangers continue to fail to give Colby Lewis any type of run support. Over his last six starts, the Rangers' offense has have given Lewis a total of seven runs. Lewis has given up a average of 2.33 runs per game during this period but has five losses and one no-decision to show for it.
• After a second-straight 0 for 4 game, Josh Hamilton is now in the midst of a 1 for 16 slump over the last five games. Hamilton has seen his batting average drop 11 points over this time, but still leads the Majors by 12 points with a .353 batting average.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)