Bedard sizzles, bats come alive as O's trounce Rangers

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Fastball, changeup, curveball. It didn't matter which pitch Erik Bedard threw, because they all seemed to hit the corners with uncanny accuracy.

Elias Says

Erik Bedard picked up his sixth win in his last six starts Saturday, and in the last five of those starts, he has gone at least six innings while allowing either no runs or one. Bedard is the first pitcher this season to win five straight starts, going six innings and allowing no more than one run in each of them. But even though the Orioles have had some great pitchers during their years in Baltimore, you have to go back nearly 90 years -- to the early years of the St. Louis Browns -- to find the last pitcher from this franchise to have a streak of five starts like Bedard has had. The last pitcher to achieve that was a fellow named Dave Davenport, who did it in August 1917. • For more Elias Says, click here.

The result was another impressive performance by the young left-hander, who has put up some amazing numbers since perfecting his changeup and mastering the fine art of throwing strikes.

Bedard allowed one unearned run in seven innings to win his sixth straight start, and the Baltimore Orioles ended their scoring slump at the expense of rookie John Rheinecker in an 8-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Bedard (11-6) gave up six hits, walked one and struck out six. He has a 1.07 ERA during his six-game run, and has allowed only two earned runs in 36 innings over his last five starts.

"He's been absolutely phenomenal. It's fun to watch," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "He's gradually growing into becoming a great pitcher."

Working with pitching coach Leo Mazzone, Bedard recently added a changeup to his list of pitches. That made his fastball more effective, but that's only one reason why Bedard has been so efficient lately.

"The changeup is a big factor," he said. "Throwing strikes with that helps me a lot with the rest of my pitches."

Said Perlozzo: "I'm sure it's a combination of things, but I think the changeup got him on the right track. He's been locating his fastball on the outer part of the plate and working ahead in the count. His curveball's been great, too. He makes it tough for the opposition to hit."

The Rangers will vouch for that.

"He kept us off balance all day. He throws strikes consistently," said Mark Teixeira, who went 0-for-3 and got Texas' lone walk. "He's definitely improved as a pitcher; we have a good-hitting lineup and he held us down all day."

Jeff Conine had three hits and two RBI, and Melvin Mora drove in two runs and scored twice for the Orioles, who had totaled two runs and 10 hits in their two previous games. Every starter had a hit by the fifth inning as Baltimore built an 8-0 lead.

The Rangers' lone run came on a sixth-inning RBI single by Ian Kinsler following a throwing error by Mora from third base.

Before that, Texas didn't get a runner past first base.

"(Bedard) was tough. He was very impressive," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "He's been throwing well against a lot of people. We knew his velocity and arm strength were up, and he presents a lot of challenges to hitters."

Texas was 4-0 against the Orioles this season, outscoring them 27-5.

Making his 10th start, Rheinecker (4-4) yielded a career-high seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest stint of the season. His ERA rose from 3.96 to 4.82.

"He didn't particularly give up a lot of hard hit balls, but the way Bedard was pitching you've got to have a real good outing," Showalter said.

The Rangers had not allowed more than four runs in eight straight games, going 6-2 in that span. The streak crumbled under the weight of a five-run fourth inning that provided the Orioles with a 7-0 lead.

All the runs came with two outs. Mora hit a two-run double and Miguel Tejada drove in a run with an infield single to chase Rheinecker. Conine then singled in a run off Scott Feldman and Ramon Hernandez followed with an RBI single.

In the fifth, Luis Terrero followed singles by Javy Lopez and Kevin Millar with his first hit of the season, an RBI single to center. He was 0-for-19 prior to that hit.

The Orioles got a run in the first when Mora was hit by a pitch and scored when Texas right fielder Mark DeRosa let a single by Tejada skip past him.

Doubles by Brian Roberts and Conine made it 2-0 in the third.

Game notes
Former Oriole Jerry Hairston went 0-for-3, but made an outstanding leaping catch in the sixth to rob Conine of a homer. ... Baltimore's Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 and is batting .383 over his last 23 games with an at-bat. ... Before he received a warm ovation from the crowd of 35,804 for his first hit, Terrero was cheered after making a fine running catch in center and doubling up Kinsler at first base in the fourth.