BALTIMORE (AP) - Chris Davis hit two home runs, Baltimore pounded out 16 hits and Dylan Bundy stymied Texas with six innings of four-hit ball.
For a change, everything went right for the struggling Orioles in a 12-1 rout of the Rangers on Tuesday night.
Quality starts and lopsided victories have been scarce for Baltimore, which must repeat the formula on a consistent basis to get back into the playoff picture.
“We know we have to have a lot of things clicking to get back to where we want to be,” manager Buck Showalter said. “I think not only the starters, but just the whole team in general.”
Davis homered in a six-run first inning, added a grand slam in the fourth and finished with a career-high six RBIs. It was the 19th career multihomer game for Baltimore’s cleanup hitter, making his fifth start since coming off the disabled list with an oblique strain.
Trey Mancini and Seth Smith also homered for the Orioles, who scored six runs against Tyson Ross (2-2) before making an out.
“It was one of those nights where we just kind of fed off of each other,” Davis said. “We’ve been looking for that for a while.”
Baltimore has won two straight over Texas following a three-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs. The Orioles are still five under .500, but now there’s hope.
“Anytime your offense has a game like tonight, I feel like everybody else can kind of take a deep breath and not stress so much,” Davis said.
Bundy (9-8) breezed in his first victory since June 24.
“You get a cushion from our offense,” he said, “and it just wants to make you get back in the dugout so they can hit some more.”
Vying to stay afloat in the AL playoff picture, Texas pitched poorly and sputtered at the plate. In addition, center fielder Carlos Gomez got his glove around Davis’ first-inning drive before the ball escaped over the wall.
Shin-Soo Choo homered for the Rangers, who have lost three in a row and scored only six runs in their last four games.
“We’ve got to find a way to get this offense going,” manager Jeff Banister said.
After Choo hit the 23rd leadoff homer of his career, Baltimore responded with gusto in the bottom of the first. Jonathan Schoop doubled in two runs, Davis followed with the drive that eluded Gomez’s grasp and Mancini capped the uprising with a two-run homer.
“Tough way to play a baseball game tonight,” Banister said. “Obviously, very challenged from the first inning.”
In the fourth, Ross was lifted after a single, an error and a walk loaded the bases. Davis hit the second pitch from Austin Bibens-Dirkx into the center field seats. It was his eighth career grand slam, the first this season.
Ross gave up nine runs, eight earned, in 3 1/3 innings. He’s 0-3 with an 18.23 ERA in eight career games against Baltimore.
“The pitches I had over the plate didn’t have the movement I wanted and a lot of pitches flew over the heart and got hit hard,” the right-hander said.
Smith homered in the eighth to complete the Orioles’ most lopsided win of the season.
NO DAY TRADER
Banister isn’t thinking about buying or selling as the non-waiver trade deadline nears. “We need to go out and win baseball games with these guys,” he said. “We don’t worry about where we are in the division. The bottom line is that we have to go out with this group of players. We believe in these guys.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: Banister said he’s “not sold” on the idea of a rehab assignment for RHP Keone Kela (right shoulder soreness) before the reliever comes off the DL. … LHP Jake Diekman (ulcerative colitis) is in a throwing program and still hopes to play this season.
Orioles: RHP Hunter Harvey, the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 draft, is slated to start in the Gulf Coast League on Wednesday - his first outing since elbow ligament replacement surgery last summer.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Martin Perez (5-6, 4.55 ERA) starts Wednesday in the third game of the series. He’s 3-0 in his last four starts and his ERA hasn’t been this low since May 29.
Orioles: Kevin Gausman (5-7, 6.39 ERA) looks to rebound from a horrid start out of the All-Star break, when he gave up eight runs in three innings against the Cubs.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Please read our comment policy before commenting.