Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers series preview, May 26-28

Baltimore Orioles return home to face the Texas Rangers

The Orioles return home after facing fellow A.L East rivals in the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. The O's had a very successful road trip, featuring two thrilling series wins. This featured a sweep of the Blue Jays and 2 out of 3 against the Yankees. Now they face a similar threat with the Rangers coming to town.

The Opponent

The Rangers have been one of the best and most improved teams so far this season. They sit atop the A.L West with a 31-18 record and a 3 game lead over the second-place Astros. They recently took 2 out of 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. They feature one of the top offenses in the majors, leading the MLB in team batting average, RBI's, and are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays in runs scored. They also feature a top pitching staff, ranking top 10 in ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average, and they lead the majors with 2 complete games by their starters this season.

Season Series

The Orioles took the series against the Rangers in their matchup in early April. The Orioles won 2 out of 3 against the Rangers, holding their prolific offense to only 7 runs over the 3 game span. The Orioles won the first game 2-0 and the second game 7-2, while dropping the series finale in 5-2 fashion.

Game 1: Friday, 5/26 - Grayson Rodriguez vs. Jon Gray

This will be Grayson Rodriguez's second start against the mighty Rangers. His first career start came against the Rangers, where he completed 5 innings of 2 run baseball in an impressive debut. Rodriguez will be trying to build off of his last start where he completed 5 innings against the Blue Jays allowing just 2 runs. He features a 2-1 record with 6.21 ERA on the season.

Jon Gray will take the mound for the Rangers hoping to continue an impressive season. He features a 4-1 record with a 3.02 ERA. Gray's only loss came against the Orioles in his first start of the season after he held the O's to two runs over 6.1 innings.

Game 2: Saturday, 5/27 - Dean Kremer vs. Andrew Heaney

Kremer will look to continue his recent success Saturday against the Rangers. In his last start against Toronto, Kremer completed 5.1 innings of 1 run baseball, with 7 strikeouts as well. Kremer was wildly effective allowing 9 hits and 2 walks in the outing, but he was able to successfully navigate through the traffic.

Andrew Heaney is hoping to have a much better outing on Saturday then he did in his first start against the O's. In his first start of the season, he allowed 7 runs in 2.2 innings against the O's, handing him his first loss as a Ranger. But since then, Heaney has settled in nicely hosting a 3-3 record with a 4.13 ERA.

Game 3: Sunday, 5/28 - Kyle Bradish vs. Dane Dunning

Bradish will be looking to rebound against the Rangers on Sunday. In his last start against the Yankees, Bradish completed 5 innings of work, but surrendered 4 runs along with 7 hits and 3 walks. He was handed a no-decision.

Breakout star Dane Dunning will try to continue his success so far this season. Dunning started the season as a long-reliever out of the Rangers bullpen. But with the injury to ace Jacob deGrom, Dunning was forced into the rotation where he has done a fantastic job. He has a perfect 4-0 record along with a 1.67 ERA.

The Rangers present yet another tough challenge for this young Orioles team. The O's will be looking to continue to establish themselves as an elite team in the A.L, and a legit World Series contender.

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