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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Texas Rangers ended a miserable month by
finally playing a game befitting their stature as defending AL West
champions.
|  | | Royce Clayton flies over a sliding Mark Lewis to complete a double play in the fifth inning. |
Ivan Rodriguez broke out of a slump with two homers and a double
as Texas snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Baltimore
Orioles 8-4 Sunday.
Kenny Rogers (3-3) allowed four runs and nine hits in 7 1/3
innings for the Rangers, who got at least one hit from every
starter and banged out six doubles in winning for only the third
time in 13 games.
"A day like today is what I think we envisioned coming out of
spring training," manager Johnny Oates said. "I felt that we
could score enough runs, that our starting pitching would be a
strength and that our bullpen could get people out."
After Rogers departed, Texas relievers Jeff Zimmerman, Michael
Venafro and John Wettleland shut down the Orioles without a hit.
The Rangers also played solid defense, giving Oates reason to
believe that Texas might be on the road to reversing its horrid
8-15 start.
"Today is more indicative of what we should be doing on the
field," he said.
Mark Lewis drove in two runs for the Orioles, whose nine-game
home winning streak came to an end. Baltimore, which held an early
3-0 lead, had not lost at Camden Yards since opening day.
Baltimore was charged with two errors, three wild pitches and a
passed ball.
"We were our own worst enemy today," Orioles manager Mike
Hargrove said.
Rodriguez was mired in a 2-for-22 funk before he led off the
sixth inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run. He hit a
solo homer in the seventh and added a two-run shot off Mike Timlin
in the ninth.
"Everybody goes through a slump, but you've just got to keep
swinging," Rodriguez said. "We all played pretty good today. If
we keep doing what we did today, it's a good start."
Texas used three doubles in the sixth to score twice and take a
5-3 lead. After Rodriguez doubled, David Segui followed with a
double and Gabe Kapler chased Pat Rapp (3-1) with a liner to the
gap in right-center.
"They hit some balls that landed where we weren't standing and
they got back in the game. Then they went ahead and closed it
out," Hargrove said. "I've seen Pat pitch better, but thought he
pitched well enough to win."
Baltimore put runners at first and third with two outs in the
bottom of the inning before Rogers struck out Charles Johnson on
four pitches.
Doubles by B.J. Surhoff and Jeff Conine chased Rogers in the
eighth.
The Orioles went up 3-0 in the second when Johnson hit a two-out
RBI single and Lewis followed with a two-run double.
Rapp retired the first seven batters before Mike Lamb doubled
and scored on a single by Jason McDonald. Rapp threw three wild
pitches in the fourth and allowed RBI hits by Segui and Ruben
Mateo.
Game notes
Baltimore's Scott Erickson, coming back from elbow surgery,
finished his rehabilitation assignment by pitching seven shutout
innings for Double-A Bowie against Akron. The right-hander gave up
three hits, walked none and struck out five. He will get his first
start of the season Friday against the New York Yankees. ... Segui
had his team-high 14th multihit game. He has reached safely in 22
of 24 games. ... The crowd of 48,563 was the largest in the
nine-year history of Camden Yards. ... Texas has homered in 17 of
its 24 games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Texas Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 2
Cleveland 1
Detroit 4
Chi. White Sox 3
NY Yankees 7
Toronto 1
Texas 8
Baltimore 4
Kansas City 6
Seattle 3
Oakland 8
Minnesota 2
Anaheim 5
Tampa Bay 2
St. Louis 4
Philadelphia 3
Cincinnati 6
Pittsburgh 2
Milwaukee 4
Houston 3
Arizona 6
Chicago Cubs 0
NY Mets 14
Colorado 11
Montreal 4
San Francisco 3
Los Angeles 7
Florida 1
Atlanta 7
San Diego 4
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