Mark Trumbo homers twice in inning, O's pound Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas — Mark Trumbo is already providing plenty of power in the middle of Baltimore's lineup. The slugger is going deep in bunches.
Trumbo hit two of Baltimore's four home runs in a nine-run seventh inning, giving him five homers in as many games, and the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 11-5 on Friday night.
"I don't want to overthink it," Trumbo said after his eighth career mulithomer game. "It's always a nice thing when it happens."
Johnathan Schoop also homered twice, including a tying two-run homer in the seventh before Nolan Reimold hit a go-ahead shot two pitches later.
Trumbo, acquired from Seattle in an offseason trade, is the first Baltimore batter ever with two homers in the same inning, and first in the majors since Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion against Houston on July 26, 2013, according to STATS.
Have an inning, Mr. Trumbo! #Birdland
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 16, 2016
HR 1: https://t.co/y2Qr29vUaJ
HR 2: https://t.co/dLAgjvuekh pic.twitter.com/TruQZW5ptG
"I'm not going to talk about it. I'm not going to jinx him. He's been in a good spot since the day he walked into Sarasota," manager Buck Showalter said. "It's obvious, the atmosphere that he's in fits him well. And the guys have drawn to him. He fits the way we try to do things and need to do things."
The Orioles trailed 5-3 after Trumbo's two-run homer chased Martin Perez with no outs in the seventh. They went ahead to stay when Schoop and Reimold went back-to-back off Tom Wilhelmsen (1-1), and Trumbo added a three-run shot off a second reliever later in the inning.
Schoop homered again in the eighth, a solo shot for his third of the season and his third career game with multiple homers.
Baltimore starter Vance Worley (1-0) had already thrown his last pitch before the Orioles became the first team in nearly three years to homer four times in the same inning. Detroit homered four times in the fourth inning against Baltimore on June 1, 2013, according to STATS.
"One guy hits a home run and, next thing you know, everybody's doing it," Worley said. "It spreads like wildfire."
The Orioles, who snapped a two-game losing streak that followed their majors-best 7-0 start, had three homers in a span of four batters in the seventh.
"We sent Martin back out there. Martin was still in good shape. We felt Martin was one good sinker away from getting a ground-ball double play," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "They didn't miss much in that inning. It was a rough inning all the way around. When you miss pitches, this is a club we know that has enough guys that can hit the ball the ball out of the ballpark. We just didn't make pitches that inning."
BELTRE EXTENTION
The Rangers said after the game they had reached an agreement on a two-year contract with All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre through the 2018 season. The 37-year-old Beltre wasn't available after the game, but a press conference is scheduled for Saturday.
Beltre was in the final season of a $96 million, six-year deal he signed with the Rangers before the 2011 season.
THE OTHER BIG INNING
Texas got each of its runs off Worley in the second. Mitch Moreland homered with one out, and then the Rangers loaded the bases on two walks and a single before Bryan Holaday was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Delino DeShields added a two-run single and rookie Nomar Mazara had a sacrifice fly.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: Infielder Jimmy Paredes, who sprained his left wrist diving for a ball in a spring training game March 3, is expected to play an extended spring training game Monday in Florida.
Rangers: C Chris Gimenez, who started the season on the 15-day disabled list with a staph infection near his left ankle, was cleared to resume baseball activities. He hasn't played since a spring training game March 26.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Right-hander Yovani Gallardo (1-0), who grew up in nearby Fort Worth and still lives there, pitches against the Rangers after playing for them last season. Gallardo turned down a $15.8 qualifying offer by Texas and eventually signed a $22 million, two-year deal with the Orioles that includes a 2018 team option.
Rangers: Texas plays the third of 13 at home in a 16-game streak. Right-hander Colby Lewis (1-0) makes his third start of the season after going six innings in each of the first two.
