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 The Baltimore Orioles utility man filled in for Manny Machado
earlier this season while the third baseman rehabbed an injured
knee. When Machado's five-game suspension was upheld Monday and the
Orioles found out they would be playing with a 24-man roster, it was
time for Flaherty to help fill in at third base again.
Flaherty hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning
Wednesday and made several impressive defensive plays at third,
helping lift Baltimore to a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers.
"It can't be the same guys every night," Flaherty said. "It's an
opportunity for other guys to get in there and try to contribute and
help the team win."
The Orioles (45-39) moved a season-high six games over .500, despite
trailing 4-0 after the third inning. They relied on the home run
ball, their specialty, to get back in the game. Center fielder Adam
Jones belted a solo home run to left, his 16th of the season, for
Baltimore's first run.
"The home run to make it 4-1 gave us a little life there, and we
kind of took it from there," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
Baltimore matched its season high with its sixth consecutive
multi-homer game. The Orioles collected at least one home run for
the 12th game in a row. They homered in each of their past 33 wins.
"We just kept grinding, slowly crawled back into it, and put
ourselves in a position to win," Flaherty said.
The Rangers (37-47) lost their fourth in a row and fell for the 13th
time in 16 games. Reliever Neal Cotts (2-5) gave up the homer to
Flaherty and later an RBI single to Jones that made it 6-4.
Shortly before that, Texas left the bases loaded in the sixth when
it still held a 4-1 lead.
"We had opportunities to add on and we just didn't add on," Rangers
manager Ron Washington said. "It came back and bit us."
Trailing 4-1, the Orioles struck for three runs in the sixth.
Designated hitter Nelson Cruz and Hardy each delivered an RBI
single, with Hardy's tying the game 4-4.
Brad Brach (2-0) earned the win, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings of
relief. Zach Britton worked the ninth for his 11th save.
Rangers right-hander Miles Mikolas gave up three runs in 5 1/3
innings in his first major league start. Mikolas allowed just three
hits but walked back-to-back batters before exiting, with both later
coming in to score. The rookie was promoted after left-hander Joe
Saunders was designated for assignment Tuesday.
"It was a lot of fun being out there," Mikolas said. "I thought I
pitched a pretty good game up until the fifth. Then I had some
trouble with some walks. Things kind of didn't go our way after
that."
Orioles starter Chris Tillman gave up four runs (three earned) on
seven hits and four walks, laboring through 5 2/3 innings on 111
pitches. The right-hander gave up just one run in 15 innings over
his previous two starts.
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Tillman has struggled against Texas this season, going 0-2 and
allowing nine runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre went 2-for-4 and gave Texas a
3-0 lead with a two-run double down the right field line with one
out in the third. That came not long after shortstop Elvis Andrus
reached when Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph interfered with Andrus'
swing and was charged with an error. A lengthy argument ensued
between Showalter and the umpires.
Designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo (1-for-2, three walks) singled up
the middle on the first pitch of the game. Four batters later, right
fielder Alex Rios (2-for-4) hit an RBI single to center field off
Tillman to put Texas up 1-0.
Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin robbed Cruz of a homer leading
off the second inning. Martin leaped at the wall and prevented
Cruz's deep fly from landing in the Baltimore bullpen.
Martin had an RBI infield single in the third to make it 4-0.
NOTES: The game was delayed for 1 hour, 38 minutes in the bottom of
the eighth inning. ... Orioles RHP Bud Norris (groin) will pitch in
a rehab game or a simulated game before being activated from the
15-day disabled list. Norris last pitched June 21 against New York.
... RHP Kevin Gausman pitched for short-season Class A Aberdeen on
Wednesday. Gausman was the 26th player on the Orioles' roster for
last Friday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay. He might be recalled
to start Sunday against Boston. Baltimore's other option for Sunday
is LHP T.J. McFarland, who beat the Texas Rangers on Tuesday in a
spot start. ... Texas manager Ron Washington said if Thursday's game
against Baltimore is rained out, RHP Yu Darvish would pitch either
Friday or Saturday in New York. On the current schedule, Darvish
would pitch the Sunday before the All-Star break, meaning he would
not pitch for the American League should he be selected.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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