Afterward, Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli decided to cancel batting practice Tuesday and ordered the players to show up just 95 minutes before the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start.

“We’re going to lay off the pregame hitting. These are hot days, and I think we’re trying a little bit too hard,” he said. “Sometimes you just go and strap it on and get 15 hits in a game,” he said.

Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera (8-8) pitched five innings, giving up three runs, three hits and a career-high seven walks.

After Benoit left, Gibbons hit his 15th homer on the second pitch from Ron Mahay, and Larry Bigbie added a run-scoring groundout to bring the Orioles to 3-2 in the sixth.

But that was the extent of the Baltimore offense, which failed to benefit from the return of catcher Javy Lopez, who spent two months on the disabled list with a broken hand. Lopez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

The Rangers made it 4-2 in the eighth when Soriano singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez.

“We lost five games in a row, so I think the game tonight is very important for us,” said Soriano, who scored twice.

Texas went up 1-0 in the third, thanks to Cabrera’s wildness — and a mental lapse by the right-hander. After Gary Matthews walked and was caught stealing, Cabrera walked three straight to load the bases. Mark Teixeira followed with a grounder to first, and Cabrera was late covering the base on the back end of a potential double play, allowing a run to score.

“That’s a mental mistake,” Mazzilli said. “That can’t happen.”

Soriano hit his 25th homer leading off the fourth, and Baltimore left the bases loaded in the bottom half.

The Rangers made it 3-0 in the fifth. Cabrera issued a pair of two-out walks before Soriano blooped an RBI single to right.

That proved to be enough to lift the Rangers back to .500 (49-49).

“A winning streak can start tonight,” Texas manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”

Notes: Texas’ David Dellucci was given the night off after going 1-for-15 in his previous five games. ... Sammy Sosa’s eight-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-3 night.

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