Grayson Rodriguez struck out eight over six innings for his AL-best 12th win, and Cedric Mullins became the eighth Baltimore batter with 10 home runs this season as the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 on Saturday night.
Jordan Westburg and Ryan O'Hearn also went deep to increase Baltimore's major league-best total to 156 home runs, 16 more than the New York Yankees.
The AL East-leading Orioles, the first American League team to reach 60 wins, went ahead to stay with a four-run second against Max Scherzer (1-3). The three-time Cy Young Award winner didn't return at the start of the next inning because of arm fatigue.
Rodriguez (12-4) struck out the side in the sixth to end his night. The right-hander allowed his only three hits and two runs in a four-batter span in the second inning before retiring 13 of the last 14 he faced.
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“I thought he got better as the game went on. A little shaky maybe early, allowed a couple runs there, balls on the middle of the plate," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "But as the game went on I thought the fastball got even better and stepped on a bunch to get some outs. Went six big innings for us.”
Rodriguez is the first Orioles pitcher since Sidney Ponson in 2003 to win 12 of his first 18 appearances in a season.
“Just wish I had been a little bit more clean at the beginning of the game,” Rodriguez said.
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Mullins' bunt single with two on in the second led to the first run, when Scherzer's throwing error past first allowed each runner to advance an extra base. No. 9 batter Ramón Urías followed with a two-run single and later scored on Anthony Santander's single.
Scherzer struck out one, walked two and gave up four hits while throwing 53 pitches (34 strikes) a week before his 40th birthday. It was only his sixth start since offseason back surgery and some nerve issues in his arm during rehab.
“Once I got out there, (the fatigue) was affecting my stuff, and it was affecting my location. ... I knew I needed to come out of the ballgame, otherwise I was going to be risking further injury,” Scherzer said. “But the good news to it is that I didn’t have any zings, I didn’t strain anything.”
A night after the Orioles got all their runs on four homers in a 9-1 series-opening win, they were up 4-0 before Mullins went deep off José Ureña in the third. Westburg, an All-Star who was in an 0-for-15 slide before his leadoff single in the second, hit a two-run homer in the sixth and O'Hearn had a solo shot in the ninth.
“They’re good. That’s why they’re where they’re at,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “There’s talent over there. They hit a lot of balls out of the ballpark, which we’ve seen the last couple of days. ... They're tough.”
Andrew Knizner had a two-run single in the Texas second. The Rangers didn't score again until Wyatt Langford snapped an 0-for-27 slide with an RBI double in the eighth, after Corey Seager walked to extend his on-base streak to 20 games, the longest active streak in the majors.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Heston Kjerstad was activated from the seven-day concussion injured list, and started in right field. He took a 97 mph fastball to the helmet on July 12. He went 0 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout. To make room on the active roster, the Orioles optioned outfielder Kyle Stowers to Triple-A Norfolk.
Rangers: After LHP Cody Bradford (low back strain) made a rehab start for the Rangers' rookie-level team in Arizona on Friday, RHPs Tyler Mahle (right elbow surgery rehab) and Dane Dunning (right rotator cuff strain) both pitched Saturday for Triple-A Round Rock.
UP NEXT
RHP Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.38 ERA) starts the series finale Sunday for Baltimore. Left-hander Andrew Heaney (3-10, 3.79) pitches for the Rangers.
