Baltimore Orioles: Take another series from the Texas Rangers

The Baltimore Orioles have won both series against the Texas Rangers – both at home and away.

While the Baltimore Orioles did have a tough late inning in Sunday’s game, they still managed to get the win.

The final game against the Rangers was dominated by two things, a bunch of singles and Adrian Beltre.

Orioles in the 3,000 Club

Of course, no team wants to be at the receiving end of any major hitting milestone, but Beltre’s 3,000th hit was impressive. Beltre became the 31st player to reach this notable number. Pete Rose leads the list with his 4,256 hits. Two Orioles hit their 3,000th while wearing the jersey: Cal Ripken (3,184) and Rafael Palmeiro (3,020). Eddie Murray is also in the club with 3,255, but he earned his 3,000 when he was with the Cleveland Indians. Murray’s and Ripken’s hits were singles while Palmeiro’s was a double. Beltre’s was also a double.

Beltre and Ichiro Suzuki are the only active players with 3,000 or more hits. Because of his milestone, Beltre and Wade Miley will forever be tied together with that one special hit.

ARLINGTON, TX – JULY 30: umpire Chris Segal

Pitching in Sunday’s game

Miley’s final line in the game was not bad. He pitched five innings and recorded four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and five strike outs. In a rare feat in 2017 baseball, no home runs were hit off of him.

The same cannot be said for the relievers who took his place. Three Orioles’ gave up home runs: Darren O’Day, Miguel Castro, and Donnie Hart. Rougned Odor hit two of those homers.

The bats were hot

Fortunately, the Orioles’ bats worked well today. In the top of the fifth, Jonathan Schoop hit his 24th home run and Welington Castillo hit his 10th. Manny Machado was on base when Schoop hit his. Trey Mancini and Chris Davis were on base when Castillo hit his.

Overall, the O’s record 13 hits – the majority of them were singles. The fourth inning saw Machado lead off with a double, followed by Schoop walking. After that Mancini, Davis, and Castillo all recorded singles. By the time the inning was over, the O’s recorded four runs.

Starting a trend

The fourth inning also started a brief trend.

After scoring four in the fourth, the O’s scored five in the fifth. Machado singled and was knocked in by the Schoop homer. Mancini walked and Davis singled, then Castillo knocked them in by going yard.

Notable stats

Machado had a notable day, going three for four with a walk. He ended up with five total bases today. Today’s game put Machado’s batting average at .243, which is the highest it has been since early April. Hopefully, he can keep it up there for a while.

It is also worth noting that four players batted .500 today: Schoop, Mancini, Davis, and Castillo. Between the four of them, they recorded nine of the RBIs and eight of the runs.

Next: Looking back at four Orioles in the MLB Hall of Fame

The Orioles return home for a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals and then a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers.