Did you know the Rangers are the only team in the AL West with a winning record? The last place team in the AL West is the Seattle Mariners. They have one more win than the Orioles and they are 7.5 games behind the first place Rangers. The Orioles are 7 games behind the fourth place Red Sox.
The Texas Rangers have been around since 1972 when the Washington Senators moved to the Lone Star state. The Orioles have an overall record of 227-177 (.562) since then. Since the Orioles began their current losing streak in 1998, their record against the Rangers is 55-62 (.470). In the past five years, the O's record against the Rangers is 20-28 (.417). It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?
Of course the Rangers have been on the other end of some of the worst beatings the Orioles have ever taken. I won't go into them, but if you're want to re-live the misery, check out the series preview over at Lone Star Ball. Also check out the caption on the photo posted.
Facing the Orioles tonight is the pitcher the Rangers traded Kevin Millwood to make room for. Rich Harden hasn't exactly been tearing it up in Texas, pitching >5 innings just three times and giving up a boatload of home runs and walks. In his last outing vs the Blue Jays he went just 2.2. innings and allowed 7 runs. So you know what that means. He's well rested! Harden hasn't faced the 2004 season so there's no real history with the current players. Miguel Tejada faced him 15 times when he played for the Astros with three hits and three strikeouts to show for it. None of the other Orioles have more than a handful of ABs against him.
Jeremy Guthrie has always had decent success against the Rangers. In 7 career games (5 starts), Guthrie is 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA and 1.277 WHIP.
Let's do this. The Rangers are better than the Orioles, but they're not as much better as the two records would indicate. Just keep that Ian Kinsler off the bases, Guts. He killed the Orioles last year, going 16-for-44 with 4 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs, and 3 walks. I got so tired of that dude last year.