Wei-Yin Chen returns to rotation and pitches Orioles past Texas

Wei-Yin Chen returned to the rotation and pitched quite well. Nolan Reimold hit a homer. Brian Roberts drove in a run. Adam Jones drew a walk. For this night, all was well in Birdland. The Orioles scored twice in the third and four times in the fourth to open up an early six-run lead on their way to a 6-1 win over the Texas Rangers at Camden Yards. The Orioles had lost six of their last eight games overall and Texas had won seven of its last eight at Camden Yards. Chen, who came off the disabled list and was pitching for the O's for the first time since May 12, went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one run. He walked three, fanned four and threw 100 pitches in improving to 4-3 with an ERA of 2.82. The Orioles had to be delighted to have a key member of their rotation back tonight. In two career starts against Texas, Chen has allowed just two earned runs over 14 2/3 innings. The O's last four starters had allowed 18 earned runs over 20 2/3 frames, none getting through the sixth inning. This was the 14th time an O's starter went seven innings or more this year. Manny Machado went 3-for-5 and plated the O's first run on an RBI triple. He is 7-for-14 in this series after going 4-for-24 on the last road trip. This was Machado's 14th game of three hits or more and his 36th multi-hit game of the year. He leads the major leagues in both categories. In the fourth, Roberts' deep drive to center went off the glove of Engel Beltre at the wall for an RBI single. Reimold followed with a towering three-run homer down the left field line. He went 2-for-4 and it was his first homer since May 4. The Orioles drew a season-high seven walks tonight. After scoring 16 runs in six games on their road trip that ended Sunday, they have scored 15 in the first three games of this series. The Orioles improved to 50-42 with the win. It's the first time the Orioles have had 50 wins by the All-Star break since 1997 when they were 55-30.