Jacob deGrom recorded 11 strikeouts over six innings and Josh Jung delivered the go-ahead home run, lifting the Texas Rangers to a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas.
deGrom (1-0) earned his first victory with the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks. He dominated early with four perfect frames, striking out the side in both the second and fourth innings.
Adolis Garcia and Jung each had two of Texas' nine hits on the day.
Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles' top pitching prospect, allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts over five innings in his major-league debut.
The Rangers enjoyed an early 2-0 lead as Rodriguez struggled out of the gates. He issued a game-opening walk to Marcus Semien and then gave up RBI hits to Garcia and Jung.
Rodriguez eventually settled in and the Orioles offense evened the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning. Ryan Mountcastle produced the team's first hit off deGrom with a leadoff double. Mountcastle scored on an error by Semien, and the Orioles tied the game on an RBI single by Adam Frazier.
The hits by Mountcastle and Frazier in the fifth inning proved to be the only ones by the Orioles.
The Rangers regained the lead for good in the sixth inning. Jung belted a two-run, opposite-field shot off Baltimore reliever Austin Voth (0-1). It marked the second home run of the season for Jung, who is now riding a five-game hitting streak.
Texas extended its lead to 5-2 on an RBI double by Nathaniel Lowe in the seventh inning.
The Rangers' bullpen closed the game with three scoreless innings, including Jose Leclerc earning his first save of the season with a perfect ninth.
With the victory, Texas snapped an eight-game losing skid to Baltimore dating back to last season.
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