'It's a lot of fun': Rangers' lineup romps in Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- Nathaniel Lowe joked Friday night that once the Rangers got past their three- and four-hole hitters -- himself and Adolis García -- the offense was able to get things going.

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 you still come out with a big win. But that’s exactly what the Rangers did Friday night, when they opened the series in Baltimore with a big 12-2 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

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

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

“I mean, again, when your three and four go up there and go 0-for-8 and you score 10 runs, it just speaks for itself,” Lowe said. “We’ve got great effort up and down the lineup. We just kind of wore that guy [Rodriguez] down. He was really good at the beginning and then we just got to him when we needed to.”

The majority of the Rangers’ scoring output on Friday came in a big eight-run fourth inning, driven by home runs from Corey Seager and Robbie Grossman. Here are three big at-bats that allowed Texas to break out in that inning:

Seager's grand slam
When an already dominant offense regained one of the best hitters in the game, good things were bound to happen. The biggest hit of the day was arguably Seager’s fourth-inning grand slam, which fully broke the game open to propel Texas to the win.

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

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

“It did [put the icing on the cake],” manager Bruce Bochy said of the grand slam. “We did a lot of good things to keep things moving, and then Corey got a pitch he could handle. It was the big bow on that inning.”

Sandy León's single
Passing the baton has been a motto for the Rangers’ high-powered offense this season, but with starting catcher Jonah Heim getting the rare off-day, León slotted into the nine-hole against the Orioles on Friday.

León is hitting just .147 in 16 games this season, but was tasked with keeping the line moving when he came up to the plate with one out in the fourth inning. The backup catcher delivered, sending a single into right field and setting up the top of the lineup perfectly with Seager and Marcus Semien coming to the plate.

“This was a planned off-day for Jonah, but we can give guys days off because the guys are coming [off] the bench and playing very well,” Bochy said. “I was impressed with the back end of our order. Those guys did such a good job. It's good to get that production throughout the order.”

The Joshes
Twice in that big fourth inning, Josh Jung and Josh H. Smith -- batting in the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup -- strung together hits in big spots.

After García opened the frame with a swinging strikeout, Jung laced a one-out triple into right field and was driven in with a single by Smith immediately after. Smith would then score on Grossman’s homer. Later in the inning, as the Rangers batted around, Jung and Smith strung together back-to-back singles to keep the inning alive a little longer.

It’s the first time since May 23, 2015, that the Rangers have had two players record two hits in one inning.

“It's a lot of fun,” Jung said. “We were joking, like we both got two hits in the same inning, it's insane. That's never happened before for us. So it was pretty cool. I mean, just overall, it was just a great team win.

“The depth is just crazy, to be honest with you,” he added. “We’ve got guys coming off the bench and producing too. Somebody can get the job done that day. If somebody's scuffling, it doesn't really matter. We're going to be relentless in our approach, and I think you're seeing that right now.”