Hamels pitches Texas past O’s, 4-1

Shin-Soo Choo and Chris Gimenez went deep for Texas, powering the offense behind a masterful effort by Cole Hamels that lifted the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.

Hamels (8-8, 3.69 ERA) gave up a run on two hits in eight innings, striking out 10 and walking four.

Hamels outdueled O’s starter Kevin Gausman (2-6, 4.39 ERA), who took the loss after giving up four runs on nine hits in six and two-thirds innings.

The loss was the eighth in nine games for Baltimore (63-65), which is now three and a half games back in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the American League.

Texas (66-61) is currently the leader in the race for that second wild-card spot, with six teams within six games of each other in the standings heading into the last month of the season.