O’s look for Jackson Holliday to set tone vs. Rangers

Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday will have another chance to bolster his credentials in Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Texas Rangers.

He’s coming off a tremendous display in the series opener when he was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Holliday appears to be an ideal leadoff hitter.

“I don’t think this kid goes anywhere else in the lineup,” Baltimore interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I took him out of the leadoff spot against (Detroit Tigers ace Tarik) Skubal. I don’t think I’ll ever do that. I think he’s probably staying there, barring something unforeseen.”

Holliday enjoys batting first in the lineup.

“It means a lot to have (Mansolino’s) trust and to be able to lead off for such a great team and hopefully set the tone for a while,” he said.

Now the Orioles will try to string together some success following Monday night’s dominant performance in which they held the Rangers to just three singles in a 6-0 win.

“When we did hit the ball hard, it was at somebody,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.

Texas first baseman Justin Foscue went 0-for-3 in his season debut after going 0-for-39 to end last season, his first in the majors.

“He looked comfortable,” Bochy said. “He got his swings in. The results weren’t there, but he saw the ball pretty good.”

Foscue was called up from Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday to replace infielder Jake Burger, who went on the injury list with a left oblique strain.

It would seem that this week’s temperatures might favor a Texas team. Temperatures reached 100 degrees at first pitch Monday.

The Orioles will have right-hander Charlie Morton (4-7, 5.64 ERA) on the mound as he attempts to maintain his winning streak to five wins. He is 4-0 in his last five games.

After the Orioles lost their first 12 games in which Morton pitched, they’ve won the last five. He allowed 10 home runs in April and May combined but he hasn’t yielded a long ball in 20 innings in June.

Morton is 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA in eight career starters against the Rangers. He has held Texas to 39 hits in 46 innings.

The Rangers have listed left-hander Jacob Latz (1-0, 3.26) as their starter on Tuesday. Latz has only made one start this season in 16 appearances, but he pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in relief in Thursday’s 4-1 home loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Latz faced Baltimore twice last season in a relief role, yielding two runs on two hits in a combined 1 2/3 innings.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who has been out nearly a month because of elbow inflammation, is expected to return to the Texas rotation this week, though that appearance won’t likely come until later in the week.

Baltimore’s lineup might be in flux. Catcher Maverick Handley went into the seven-day concussion protocol Monday, meaning Chadwick Tromp was summoned from Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Jordan Westburg could be out for most of the week with a finger ailment, as well.

“We’ve won plenty of games here recently not being at full strength,” Mansolino said. “I just think it’s kind of the next-man-up mentality that we see across all sports. I don’t think it’s abnormal, and I think these guys are resilient.”

–Field Level Media