BALTIMORE (AP) — Mitch Garver hit a third-inning grand slam and the Texas Rangers won their fourth consecutive game to start this postseason, pushing the Baltimore Orioles to the brink of elimination with an 11-8 victory in Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Sunday.
The wild-card Rangers have outscored the Orioles and Tampa Bay — the top two teams in the American League in the regular season — by 25-11. Bruce Bochy moved within one win of his first AL Championship Series as a manager. He reached that round four times in the National League, winning three World Series titles with San Francisco.
Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Hicks homered for the AL East champion Orioles, who haven’t been swept in a series of at least two games since May 2022.
Neither starting pitcher made it through the fifth. Cody Bradford got the win in relief of Jordan Montgomery, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
Grayson Rodriguez took the loss. The rookie right-hander allowed five runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings.
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