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| Monday, May 28 1:35pm ET Texas 6, Baltimore 3 | |||||||||||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- For most baseball teams, overcoming a 1-0 deficit isn't an imposing task. For the Texas Rangers, it's been a hole as deep as the Grand Canyon. So after the Rangers rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Monday, the mood in the clubhouse was almost festive. "That's the way to play. It's good to start coming back," first baseman Andres Galarraga said. "It's never too late to start." Gabe Kapler hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning to help end the Orioles' five-game winning streak. Frank Catalanotto and Galarraga hit successive solo homers for the Rangers, who recorded only their third comeback win this season. Texas improved to 2-19 when the opposition scores first and 1-24 when trailing after the sixth inning. "We've been putting ourselves in a position to win. It was only a matter of time before it started happening," Texas manager Jerry Narron said. "Today it did." Jeff Conine extended his hitting streak to 12 games and scored a run for the Orioles, who completed an 8-3 homestand on a sour note. "I thought we played well today, too," said Jerry Hairston, who had two hits and an RBI. "It's just that Kenny Rogers threw a great game and kept us off balance." Rogers limited the Orioles to two runs and five hits in six-plus innings, but the Rangers didn't pull away until after he left, breaking a 2-2 tie with a four-run eighth. Ivan Rodriguez started the uprising by reaching on a throwing error by shortstop Mike Bordick. Alex Rodriguez then walked and Rafael Palmeiro singled to load the bases for Kapler, who chased Chad Paronto (1-3) by grounding a single under the glove of diving third baseman Cal Ripken. "There are situations we put ourselves in sometimes where we aren't coming up with whatever we need," Kapler said. "But in that situation we got it done." Scott Sheldon and Rusty Greer added RBI singles off Chuck McElroy, enabling the Rangers to salvage the final game of the rain-abbreviated three-game series. J.D. Smart (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of one-hit relief to earn his first major league win. "It's exciting. It's been a long time for me," said Smart, who broke into pro ball in 1995 as a member of the Montreal Expos organization. David Segui hit a solo homer off Jeff Zimmerman in the ninth. Texas trailed 1-0 in the seventh before Catalanotto and Galarraga connected off rookie Josh Towers, who was making his first big league start. Galarraga's home run, his eighth, ended a 3-for-39 slump. "It was a changeup," Galarraga said. "I hit the ball in front and as soon as I hit it I knew it was gone." Towers, who developed a cut on his pitching hand in the sixth, gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings. The right-hander threw first-pitch strikes to 22 of 28 batters and did not allow a walk. "I thought my control was real good, but I was not too happy missing my spots," he said. "On those two home runs, I got the ball up and it cost me." The bleeding finger was not a factor. "It had nothing to do with the way I was throwing the ball," Towers said. The Orioles tied it in the bottom of the seventh. Conine and Segui singled, chasing Rogers, and Ripken reached on an error to load the bases with no outs. Melvin Mora then hit a sacrifice fly off Smart before Mike Kinkade bounced into a double play. Rogers' lone walk cost him a run. Mora drew a leadoff walk in the third, took second on a single by Kinkade, went to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hairston. On most days, that would have been enough to doom the Rangers to another loss. Instead, the Orioles fell to 18-5 when leading after six innings. Game notesPalmeiro's eighth-inning single snapped a 1-for-17 slide. ... The Rangers have hit successive homers five times this season. ... Segui went 2-for-3 against Rogers and is 9-for-22 (.409) against the lefty. ... Texas remains the only team in the majors that has not been shut out.  Send this story to a friend
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RECAPS Detroit 12 Cleveland 6
Texas 6
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