BALTIMORE - The return of Wei-Yin Chen was expected. The surprise came when Nolan Reimold had his name inserted into the Baltimore Orioles' lineup just before the start of Wednesday's game against Texas.
The late move turned out to be a good one for Reimold and the Orioles, who woke up on offense and gave their left-handed starter a big dose of support en route to a 6-1 win over the Rangers in front of 19,344 at Camden Yards.
Chen looked solid in his first start since May 12 - he went on the disabled list two days later with a strained right oblique - pitching seven innings and scattering three hits. Chen struck out four and walked three, and improved to 4-3.
"It's been so long ... I'm happy today," Chen said through his interpreter. "I did a good job today. I proved myself. I can come back and healthy, and I can pitch in the major leagues."
Meanwhile, Reimold replaced Chris Dickerson as the designated hitter when Dickerson complained of a shoulder strain during batting practice. Orioles manager Buck Showalter thought it was severe enough to make the switch and put Reimold in the No. 9 spot in the batting order.
Reimold said bench coach John Russell told him after batting practice he'd be playing Wednesday night.
"I just got ready to play like a normal game after that," said Reimold, who turned in the big offensive surge in the fourth inning.
Reimold hit a towering fly down the line in left that landed three rows into the seats for a three-run homer, and Baltimore (50-42) extended its lead to 6-0. It was Reimold's fifth home run of the season and first since May 4.
"It felt good that I was able to come through one time," he said. "Something to build on, and glad to get the win."
The Orioles sent nine men to the plate in the fourth against Texas starter Josh Lindblom, who labored from the start and needed 119 pitches to last 5 1-3 innings. Lindblom allowed six earned runs and nine hits with four walks.
Chen, on the other hand, enjoyed an early lead.
Manny Machado drilled a triple into the left-center gap and Nate McLouth scored from first, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the third inning. It was Machado's third triple of the season and he later came home on a wild pitch to put Baltimore up 2-0.
Machado went 3 for 5 and collected his 36th multi-hit game of the season, which tied him for the league lead.
Brian Roberts made it 3-0 in the fourth with a strange RBI single. After walks to Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy to start the inning, Roberts sent one into right-center and center fielder Engel Beltre jumped to snare it near the wall. Beltre couldn't corral it and the ball deflected off his glove, then off the wall and onto the warning track.
Wieters waited near second to see where the ball was before racing home, and Hardy made it to third while Roberts back-tracked to first base.
"I'm just glad he didn't catch it, so I'll take that," said Roberts, who has an RBI in each of his home games since coming off the DL on June 30.
Texas (53-38) scored its run in the sixth on a fielder's choice by Adrian Beltre. A.J. Pierzynski followed with a double to left-center, putting runners on second and third. But Chen got Elvis Andrus to ground out and the threat was over.
"I know he's been anxious to get back with the club and make a contribution," Showalter said about Chen. "It's been a tough, tough road for him. It's exciting to have him back, but it doesn't mean we're just going to throw our glove out there.
"We've got to catch it and do a lot of other things to make it work. But I like our chances a lot better with him here."
NOTE: Showalter said it's likely Dickerson will undergo an MRI in the next few days if his shoulder is still sore. Dickerson has had some history with the same injury. "I still have really good strength, so we're going to give it a day and see how it feels tomorrow," Dickerson said. "But I don't think it's anything too serious."
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