Orioles' 3 HRs not enough in loss to Rangers

• Hoping to make a hitting slump disappear%2C Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried a trick. Presto%21 He hired a magician.
• Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is downplaying a report of a renewed rift with general manager Jerry Dipoto

BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Orioles got two home runs from Chris Davis, another from Manny Machado and had six players get hits.

Unfortunately, the Texas Rangers had more than enough power to trump Baltimore's offensive show.

Mitch Moreland hit two home runs for the second straight game, and Texas celebrated the return of Josh Hamilton by defeating the Orioles 8-6 on Tuesday night.

Shin-Soo Choo and Robinson Chirinos also went deep for the Rangers, who have hit eight home runs in the first two games of the series.

"We scored, what, six runs? There was enough to win a baseball game," manager Buck Showalter said. "They just did a better job, pitched a little better."

Texas starter Colby Lewis (8-3) allowed five runs, three earned, and six hits over six innings to improve to 4-0 in six starts since May 27. He was tagged for three homers but survived the onslaught.

Shawn Tolleson gave up a run in the ninth but picked up his 11th save.

Miguel Gonzalez (6-5) surrendered six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, including a career-high tying three homers. The six runs were the most he allowed since April 4, 2014, when he gave up seven to Detroit.

"Well, the last couple games they have been swinging it really well," Gonzalez said of the Rangers. "And unfortunately the last two games we haven't been pitching the way we wanted to."

Indeed, as Texas manager Jeff Banister put it: "There is no defense for a home run."

The Orioles have lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.

Moreland homered with a man on in the second and eighth innings. It's the eighth time in club history that a player has hit multiple home runs in consecutive games.

"I'm trying to go up there and see it well, get ready to hit," Moreland said. "Couple of them have been maybe a little helped by the ballpark. It's a great hitters' park."

Hamilton hit two singles and made a nice running catch of a sinking liner to left field in his eighth game of the season. The free-swinging slugger was sidelined since May 31 with a strained left hamstring.

"I am trying to barrel on the ball. You start from there," Hamilton said. "Once you start from there, you try to put a little extra into it if you need to. Overall, I felt good with my at-bats. It was a good night overall."

Over their first 76 games, the Rangers had one game with four home runs. Now they have three.

The Orioles jumped in front in the first inning when Texas second baseman Rougned Odor fumbled a two-out grounder and Davis homered to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

Moreland tied it in the second after a welcome-back single by Hamilton.

Texas went up 4-2 in the third when Prince Fielder singled in a run and Odor scored on a double-play grounder. Davis made it 4-4 in the bottom half with another drive to center following a two-out single by Adam Jones.

The long-ball barrage resumed in the fifth, when Chirinos led off with a homer and Choo connected on an 0-2 pitch.

Machado homered in the bottom half to get Baltimore to 6-5. Moreland's drive off Chaz Roe in the eighth gave him his seventh career multihomer game.

Astros 4, Royals 0: Dallas Keuchel allowed seven hits in eight innings to lead Houston to the victory.

The performance comes after Keuchel (10-3) threw a six-hit shutout in a win over the New York Yankees in his previous start. Keuchel struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 2.03.

George Springer had a two-run homer in the third inning. Jose Altuve drove in a run in the fifth to help Houston to the victory.

The Astros have taken the first two games of this matchup of teams with the best records in the American League. Houston is 46-34 and Kansas City is 44-30.

Kansas City starter Danny Duffy (2-4) allowed six hits and four runs in 6 2/3 innings in his second start since returning from the disabled list.

Cubs 1, Mets 0: Kyle Hendricks outpitched Jonathon Niese in a matchup of feeble offenses, and the Cubs stopped a five-game skid.

Hendricks (3-4) struck out six in six innings and combined with three relievers on a three-hitter. Jason Motte earned his third save.

Matt Szczur had an RBI double in the sixth for the Cubs, who scored just six runs during their losing streak.

Niese (3-8) allowed four hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked four.

The Mets had won four in a row.

Marlins 5, Giants 3: Major league batting leader Dee Gordon hit the first inside-the-park homer in the four-year history of Marlins Park, and the three-run shot helped Miami to the win.

Justin Bour also homered for the Marlins, giving a welcome jolt of power to a team without injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Buster Posey hit his 12th homer for the Giants. He has 18 RBIs in his past 10 games.

Mat Latos (3-5) gave up three runs, two earned, in six innings for Miami. A.J. Ramos pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.

San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong (6-6) allowed four runs in six innings.

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3: David Ortiz and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit solo home runs in Boston's third straight win, and Eduardo Rodriguez pitched six solid innings.

The Red Sox matched their longest winning streak of the season.

Rodriguez (4-2) gave up one run and four hits, slowing down the top-scoring team in the majors. Tommy Layne gave up a two-run homer to Jose Reyes in the seventh, Alexi Ogando got four outs and Koji Uehara finished for his 18th save.

Marco Estrada (5-4) allowed four runs, two earned, and three hits in 2 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season. He had taken no-hit bids into the eighth in each of his previous two starts.

Nationals 6, Braves 1: Jordan Zimmermann took a shutout into the eighth inning, and Washington continued its season-long dominance of the division rivalry.

The NL East-leading Nationals have won nine straight games in the season series with the Braves — including a three-game sweep at Washington last week.

Zimmermann (6-5) ended a streak of three losses since his last win on June 2. He allowed six hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Clint Robinson hit a two-run homer to cap Washington's four-run first inning off Shelby Miller (5-4).

Juan Uribe opened the ninth with a homer off former Braves reliever David Carpenter.

Indians 6, Rays 2: Danny Salazar pitched two-hit ball for 7 2/3 innings, and the Indians backed him with three home runs.

Jason Kipnis, Giovanny Urshela and David Murphy connected for Cleveland, sending Tampa Bay to its third straight loss.

Facing the Rays for the first time since losing in the 2013 AL wild-card game, Salazar (7-3) allowed one earned run and struck out two. He won for the first time in four starts.

Erasmo Ramirez (6-3) lost for the first time in six starts.

Mets: The New York Mets have activated Daniel Murphy from the 15-day disabled list, hoping the infielder will bring a much-needed jolt to an offense that has had major difficulties scoring runs.

Murphy has been out with a left quadriceps strain since June 5. He will play third base with fellow All-Star David Wright still out with stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal column in his lower back. Manager Terry Collins inserted Murphy into the cleanup spot Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs.

To make room for Murphy, the Mets optioned 21-year-old second baseman Dilson Herrera to Triple-A Las Vegas. Herrera was batting .195 with two homers and four RBIs in 82 at-bats.

An All-Star for the first time last year, Murphy was batting .283 with four homers and 29 RBIs in 55 games before he got hurt.

The Mets, 27th in runs scored this season, have won four straight. They recently scored just 15 runs in a 10-game span.

Cubs: Hoping to make a hitting slump disappear, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried a trick.

Presto! He hired a magician.

Known for his unusual, motivational and tension-cutting clubhouse activities while with the Tampa Bay Rays, Maddon thought a five-game losing streak was the perfect time to pull out some fun.

Maddon conjured up the idea on the trip to New York after the Cubs were swept in St. Louis.

A team official helped find a magician named Simon, who entertained the clubhouse a couple of hours before the Cubs played the Mets at Citi Field.

Maddon said one of his favorite tricks involved a soda can that was crumpled and empty, only to return to form, full of soda.

The Cubs had scored a total of just six runs during their five-game skid.

Angels: Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is downplaying a report of a renewed rift with general manager Jerry Dipoto, saying the two are "a good team."

Scioscia addressed the report by Fox Sports on Tuesday before the Angels faced the Yankees.

The Angels largely declined to comment directly about a team meeting last weekend that apparently highlighted the differences between Scioscia's old-school approach and Dipoto's interest in statistical analysis.

Scioscia acknowledged the Angels have changed the way they distribute information from scouts, with the reports now going straight to the players instead of through the coaching staff.

Yet the majors' longest-tenured manager insists he values advanced analytics, disagreeing with the notion he is at odds with Dipoto because he relies more on baseball instinct.

Red Sox: Former Arkansas Razorback outfielder Andrew Benintendi has signed a professional baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox.

The university says Benintendi signed Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not immediately released.

Benintendi was the seventh overall pick in the recent Major League Baseball draft after leading the nation with 20 home runs. He finished the season with a .376 batting average and 57 RBIs.

He was named the winner of the Golden Spikes Award, Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, Baseball America Player of the Year, the Dick Howser Trophy and was the Southeastern Conference Player of the year.

UA says Benintendi is expected to be assigned to the Red Sox Class A affiliate in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Rangers: Josh Hamilton has been activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Texas Rangers, who placed the outfielder in the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Orioles.

Hamilton was sidelined since May 31 with a strained left hamstring. He has played in only seven games this season, batting .273 with two homers and five RBIs.

He was fifth in the lineup and in left field against Baltimore.

Texas made room for Hamilton on the 25-man roster by optioning rookie Joey Gallo to Triple-A Round Rock. Gallo had his contract purchased from Double-A Frisco on June 2 and hit .218 with five home runs and 13 RBIs over 25 games in his major league debut.

He ended his stint with a 7-for-47 skid that included 27 strikeouts.

Red Sox: Outfielder Rusney Castillo has rejoined the Boston Red Sox on a standby basis, just in case Hanley Ramirez's injured hand doesn't heal.

Castillo joined the team in Toronto but wasn't added to the active roster for Tuesday night's game against the Blue Jays.

If he isn't activated Wednesday, he must return to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Ramirez out of the lineup for the sixth straight game while his ailing left hand heads. The left fielder is batting .283 and leads the Red Sox with 15 home runs and 38 RBIs.

Manager John Farrell said Ramirez hit off the tee Monday night and in the cage earlier Tuesday. Ramirez took full batting practice Tuesday and could return to the lineup Wednesday.

"Things are coming together as we had hoped they would," Farrell said.

Cardinals: The St. Louis Cardinals placed right-handed reliever Matt Belisle on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation, retroactive to June 28.

Right-hander Marcus Hatley's contract was purchased from Triple-A Memphis. To make room on the 40-man roster, reliever Jordan Walden was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

The 35-year-old Belisle is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 30 games with 24 strikeouts in 30 innings.

This is the first call-up for the 27-year-old Hatley, who joined the team for a two-game interleague series against the White Sox beginning Tuesday night. Hatley was 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 27 games for Memphis.

The Cardinals signed Hatley as a minor league free agent last November after he'd spent nine years in the Cubs' organization.

Diamondbacks: The Arizona Diamondbacks have recalled right-hander Matt Stites from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-hander Allen Webster to the Aces.

The 25-year-old Stites went 0-1 with 3 saves and a 3.00 ERA in nine appearances with the Aces after starting the season on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation. He was reinstated from the disabled list on June 1 and optioned to Reno.

He had a 5.73 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 37 games with Arizona last season.

Webster went 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts for the Diamondbacks after allowing four runs and three homers in 3 2-3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.

Giants: Matt Cain and Jake Peavy are headed back to work for the San Francisco Giants. The two pitchers will start this week following lengthy stays on the disabled list.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday that Cain is scheduled to start Thursday against the Miami Marlins. Cain hasn't pitched since July 2014. He underwent elbow surgery last year and has been sidelined this season with a strained flexor tendon.

Peavy, out since April 17 with a strained back, is to start Friday at Washington.

Cain will replace right-hander Tim Lincecum, who will be placed on the disabled list with a bruised right forearm after being hit by a line drive Saturday.

Bochy said the Giants decided against giving Peavy another rehab start in the minors before activating him.

Giants: Casey McGehee, the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2014, will need another comeback.

The veteran infielder was designated for assignment Tuesday by the San Francisco Giants shortly before they began a three-game series at Miami. The Giants purchased the contract of infielder Ehire Adrianza from Triple-A Sacramento.

McGehee, 32, lost his starting job at third base to Matt Duffy and was demoted to the minors earlier this season. After returning he went 5 for 17, and he's batting .213 with two homers in 49 games. Despite playing part-time he has grounded into 15 double plays, tied for most in the majors.

Adrianza, a switch-hitter, has spent all of this season with Sacramento, batting .316 with three home runs.