Orioles, this time with Corbin Burnes, cruise to 11-2 win over Rangers in first meeting since ALDS

BALTIMORE — This isn’t the same Orioles team the Texas Rangers swept out of the playoffs last year.

There are offseason additions such as starter Corbin Burnes, who dominated Texas with seven innings of one-run ball in the Orioles’ 11-2 win Thursday night. Then there are the familiar names who are either trying to show they’re capable of taking the next step, such as Heston Kjerstad (2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs), or already have in Gunnar Henderson (2 for 5, two runs scored) and Jordan Westburg (1 for 4, two RBIs).

Baltimore (51-30) hosted the Rangers on Thursday for the first time since Texas knocked the inexperienced Orioles out of the American League Division Series. The reigning World Series champions’ title defense hasn’t gotten off to a stellar start, but they still trotted out a roster that largely resembles the one that outscored the Orioles by 10 runs across the three games in the first round.

Thursday’s game, which was Pride Night at Camden Yards with a paid attendance of 29,479, made evident that much has changed in the past eight months. Burnes, coming off a season-worst outing in which he allowed four runs in seven innings against the Houston Astros, was the ace he has otherwise been all year for the Orioles. He held the Rangers to one run — a homer by outfielder Adolis García — on nine hits and zero walks with five strikeouts. Burnes induced 19 swings and misses, the most whiffs against him in any game since September 2022 by Statcast’s tracking.

The Orioles acquired Burnes with the hope that he would be the missing piece for a team that needed both front-end rotation help and an innings eater who could give the bullpen a break every five days. That’s exactly what Burnes has been. The right-hander ranks fourth in the majors with a 2.28 ERA and his 106 2/3 innings trails only Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo for the most in baseball.

His presence, all the more important with Kyle Bradish out for the season, has been a steady one atop the Orioles’ rotation. Burnes has never failed to complete five innings in an Orioles uniform and hasn’t gone fewer than six since April. With him expected to take the ball for the Orioles’ opener in October, a World Series title of their own is that much closer to their grasp.

Of course, it takes an offense to score runs behind him and the lineup did well to pull its weight Thursday. On the day six of their position players were named finalists for the MLB All-Star Game, the Orioles scored eight runs off Rangers starter Jon Gray with home runs by Kjerstad and Cedric Mullins. Kjerstad has started three of four games since being recalled Monday and gone 4 for 11 at the plate.

The Orioles gave Burnes a big cushion early, scoring three runs in the first on an RBI single by Kjerstad and a two-run double by Westburg. They added another three two frames later with Ryan Mountcastle driving in Henderson on a sacrifice fly and Kjerstad’s two-run blast, his first of the season.

Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser also chipped in with solo homers off the Texas bullpen in the seventh and eighth, respectively helping the Orioles break their franchise record, set in 2016, for the most home runs in the month of June with 57. That total is the second most in June by any team in MLB history behind the 2023 Atlanta Braves (61) and 2022 New York Yankees (58). The Orioles’ record for their most home runs in any month is 58, set in May 1987.

After Burnes’ day was done, the Orioles used Bryan Baker in the eighth and Nick Vespi in the ninth. Baker gave up one run, only his second since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on June 11, on an RBI single by Nathaniel Lowe, and Vespi worked a scoreless ninth.

The Orioles have won back-to-back games following a five-game losing streak, giving them a .630 winning percentage as they reach the midpoint of the 2024 season. They’re on pace to improve on their 2023 win total by only one game, but their roster, a year older and with Burnes in tow, has offered hope that this year’s team can go on to have the same kind of finish Texas had last October.