Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jose Leclerc, right, celebrates with catcher Jonah Heim after the last out of Game 2 in an American League Division Series baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Baltimore. The Rangers defeated the Orioles 11-8. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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.
TWINS 6, ASTROS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa had three hits and three RBIs and Pablo López pitched seven shutout innings, leading Minnesota to the win in Game 2 of its AL Division Series.
Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who bounced back nicely after losing 6-4 at Houston in the series opener on Saturday night.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series is at Minnesota on Tuesday.
Correa, an October star for so many years in Houston, has returned to the postseason with a vengeance after lamenting how much he missed the playoffs when Minnesota stumbled last year in his first season with the Twins.
Correa hit an RBI double in the first inning in Game 2. He added a two-run single to center in the fifth, lifting the Twins to a 5-0 lead. He also robbed Jeremy Peña of a hit with a terrific defensive play for the final out.
López yielded six hits and struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 0.71 this postseason.
Yordan Alvarez, who homered twice in Houston’s win in Game 1, cut the lead to 6-2 with a two-run shot in the eighth inning. But Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for Minnesota.
