The Rangers score eight in the fourth for a blowout win

BALTIMORE — Nathaniel Lowe joked Friday night that once the Rangers got past the three batters and four holes — himself and Adolis Garcia — the offense was able to make things go.

It’s not often that two of the best hitters in a lineup can combine to go 0-for-8 against one of the best teams in the American League, and still get a big win. But that’s exactly what the Rangers did on Friday night, when they opened the series in Baltimore with a blowout 12-2 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

The win improved the Rangers’ record to 32-18, which is tied for the 50 best games in team history (2013).

It was the 13th time this season that the Rangers had scored a double-double in a single game, as they knocked out Baltimore’s Grayson Rodriguez in the fourth inning. The offense scored 322 points with a +122 run through the first 50 games of the season, both of which are franchise records.

“I mean, again, when the three-and-four gets up there and they go 0-for-8 and you score 10 runs, that speaks for itself,” Lowe said. “We’ve got a lot of work going up and down the lineup. We just wear this guy [Rodriguez] under. He was really good in the beginning and then we got him when we needed to.”

The majority of the Rangers’ takeout on Friday came in an eight-run big fourth inning, spurred on by home runs from Corey Seager and Robbie Grossman. Here are three great at-bats that allowed Texas to explode in that inning:

Grand Slam for Seeger
When an already dominant offense recovered one of the best hitters in the game, good things were bound to happen. The biggest hit of the day was Seager’s fourth-round grand slam, which opened the entire game to propel Texas to victory.

It was the Rangers’ fifth grand slam of the season and the third of Seager’s career.

In what was a good win for the team overall, Seeger’s grand slam stole the show as the shortstop continued his hot streak since his exit from IL on May 17. In the eight games since his return, he has slashed .323/.343/.710 with three. home runs and 14 RBIs.

“I did [put the icing on the cake]Manager Bruce Bochy said about the Grand Slam. “We did a lot of good things to keep things moving, and then Corey got a show he could handle. It was the big arc of that tour.”

Sandy Leone single
Passing the baton has been the watchword for the Rangers’ solid offense this season, but with rookie catcher Jonah Heim getting a rare out of the day, Lyons pitched nine holes against the Orioles on Friday.

147 in 16 games this season, but he was tasked with keeping the streak moving when he hit the plate with one out in the fourth inning. The backup catcher delivered, sending one to right field and setting up the top of the line perfectly with Seager and Marcus Semien hitting the plate.

“This was a planned day off for Jonah, but we can give the guys a day off because the guys are coming [off] Bushi said. “I was impressed with the back end of our system. These guys did a good job getting this production throughout the order.”

Yoshis
Twice in that big fourth inning, Josh Jung and Josh H. Smith — hitting fifth and sixth in the lineup — hit together in the big score.

After García opened the frame with a swinging hit, Jung put a triple into right field and was pushed on a leadoff single by Smith immediately after. Smith then scored on Grossman’s homer. Later in the inning, when the Rangers were battling it out, Jung and Smith hit back-to-back singles to keep the inning alive a little longer.

It is the first time since May 23, 2015 that two Rangers players have recorded two hits in one inning.

“It’s so much fun,” Jung said. “We were joking, like if we both get two hits in the same inning, it’s crazy. It’s never happened before for us. So it was pretty cool. I mean, overall, it was just a great win for the team.”

He added, “The depth is just insane, to be honest with you.” “We’ve got guys sitting on the bench who’s producing too. Anyone can get the job done that day. If somebody’s fighting, it doesn’t really matter. We’re going to be relentless in our approach, and I think you’re seeing that now.”