Orioles left fielder Nate McLouth singled and stole second base tonight. It might not seem like a big deal, but it's noteworthy.
McLouth hadn't swiped a base since June 19. He attempted only one since that night, getting thrown out in a June 22 game against Toronto.
Pitchers have been quicker to the plate with McLouth on first base, and he's been extremely patient.
McLouth scored tonight on Adam Jones' single, and Nick Markakis scored on Chris Davis' single for 2-0 lead.
Davis was 1-for-17 with 11 strikeouts against the Rangers this season. He lined a Ross Wolf fastball into left field for his 94th RBI of the season.
Matt Wieters reached on an infield hit to load the bases with one out, but Wolf struck out J.J. Hardy and Henry Urrutia.
Urrutia, in his major league debut, got ahead 2-1 before swinging through two changeups.
Down on the farm, Matt Hobgood made his debut tonight with Single-A Frederick and allowed one run and two hits in 4 1/3 relief innings, with two walks, six strikeouts and one home run. He threw 61 pitches, 34 for strikes.
Eric Thames joined Triple-A Norfolk tonight and homered in his second at-bat. Thames, acquired from the Mariners on June 30 for minor league infielder Ty Kelly, had been rehabbing a broken bone in his left hand in Sarasota.
Update: McLouth has been busy. He caught three fly balls and barely missed a sliding grab in the bottom of the first, led off the top of the second with a triple and scored on Manny Machado's single.
Orioles 3, Rangers 0.
Machado was 3-for-22 with no RBIs before his single off Wolf.
Update II: Jones jumped on the first pitch from Wolf leading off the third, a hanging changeup, and launched it for his 20th home run.
Davis followed with a double, but he trotted into second base and appears to be in some discomfort. Manager Buck Showalter and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells checked on Davis, who shook his head and stayed in the game.
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/