ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rangers outfielder Josh Smith was taken to a hospital after he was hit in the face by a pitch in the third inning of a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
Smith, a left-handed hitter, was struck on the right side of his face by a 1-0 slider from Danny Coulombe. Smith spun back to his left and dropped to the dirt in the batter’s box, breaking his fall with his left hand while holding his face with his right hand.
Gunnar Henderson and Jorge Mateo homered for Baltimore, and Tyler Wells provided a lift with five hitless innings in relief.
Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish departed with a bruised foot after he was struck by Jonah Heim’s liner with runners on first and second and one out in the second. The ball rolled to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who tagged the base with the runners moving up.
Coulombe (1-0) then got four outs before Wells entered. Felix Bautista pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save.
Texas’ only hit was a second-inning single by Josh Jung. It was the first loss for the Rangers in four games under new manager Bruce Bochy.
Wells was scheduled to start on Tuesday night. He struck out two and walked none.
Henderson, one of baseball’s top prospects, singled in the second and hit an opposite-field drive to left in the fourth. He went 0 for 8 in his first three games of the season.
Mateo pulled a homer in the fifth that went off the facing of the second deck in left.
Jon Gray (0-1) allowed four hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Rangers. He struck out seven and walked two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: C James McCann (left oblique strain) took swings before the game and ran the bases for the first time. McCann is eligible for activation on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Andrew Heaney pitches for Texas on Tuesday night. The left-hander is the third and final offseason addition to Texas’ rotation to pitch this season. Heaney signed as a free agent in December after going 4-4 with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022.
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