BALTIMORE -- On a night when Baltimore struggled to get hits against Texas young right-hander making his first major league start, the Orioles simply stayed patient and eventually broke through against the Rangers bullpen. Adam Jones and Ryan Flaherty hit solo homers and Baltimore beat Texas for the third consecutive game, 6-4 on Wednesday. The Rangers have lost eight consecutive road games, their longest drought since 2005. Baltimore stayed within one game of first-place Toronto, which beat Milwaukee 7-4, earlier Wednesday. The Orioles (45-39) moved six games over .500, equaling a season-high. "That was really impressive," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "That was one of the more impressive things Ive seen, to be able to bring that intensity into a game like that. The whole group, I was real proud of them tonight." The game was delayed 1 hour and 38 minutes because of rain in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jones hit his 16th home run of the season and had three RBIs. Flaherty, who started at third base in place of the suspended Manny Machado, hit his fourth homer of the season and also made several nice defensive plays. Baltimore has homered in 12 consecutive games. Orioles right-hander Brad Brach (2-0) entered in the sixth and earned the victory by throwing 1 1-3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Zach Britton earned his 11th save with a perfect ninth. Texas Miles Mikolas was effective in his first major league start. He allowed three runs and three hits with four strikeouts and two walks over 5 1-3 innings. Texas (37-47) has used 11 starting pitchers this year, most in the American League. The Rangers have lost 13 of their past 16 games. "It was a lot of fun being out there," Mikolas said. "I thought I pitched a pretty good game up until the fifth. Then, I had some trouble with some walks. Things kind of didnt go our way after that." Staked to a 4-1 lead, Mikolas walked Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce with one out in the sixth. Jason Frasor entered and allowed a sacrifice fly to Jones and an RBI single to Nelson Cruz. He then walked Chris Davis before allowing a game-tying RBI single to J.J. Hardy. Flaherty provided the Orioles with their first lead, 5-4, hammering an offering from Neal Cotts (2-5) onto the flag court behind right field to lead off the seventh. Jones added an insurance run that inning with a two-out single. "Its sum of the parts for sure," Flaherty said. "It cant be the same guys every night. And its an opportunity for other guys to get in there and try to contribute and help the team win." After winning his previous two starts, Baltimore right hander Chris Tillman struggled most of the game. He allowed four runs -- three earned -- and seven hits with two strikeouts and four walks over 5 2-3 innings. Texas took a 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out RBI single by Alex Rios. In 18 starts, Tillman has given up 16 runs in the first inning. "It was a grind," Tillman said. "It wasnt good. I made some pitches when I had to. I had some stuff. I was consistently behind in the count. You have to make pitches on a consistent basis." Cruz, who leads the majors with 26 homers, appeared to tie the game with a towering shot in the bottom half of that inning before Leonys Martin made a leaping catch over the fence in centre field. "That was awesome," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He beat the ball to the fence, timed it perfectly and brought it back. Nelson can just swipe the ball in this ballpark and it will go a long ways." The Rangers added three runs in the next inning on a two-run double by Adrian Beltre and a run-scoring grounder by Rios that bounced of Tillmans lower leg. Jones homer in the fourth pulled the Orioles within 4-1. NOTES: Baltimore RHP Bud Norris (right groin strain) threw a bullpen session Wednesday and will throw again Friday. Norris, who is eligible to come off the DL July 7, likely will need a rehab start or simulated game before rejoining the rotation, Showalter said. ... Orioles RHP Suk-min Yoon, who is on the minor league DL, received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder to reduce inflammation and will be reevaluated after being shut down for a few days. ... Davis hit off the tee before the game with Showalter observing. He went 1 for 3, snapping an 0-for-21 skid with a single in the eighth. ... The Orioles will try to sweep the four-game series when LHP Wei Yin Chen (7-3, 4.19 ERA) faces Rangers RHP Yu Darvish (8-4, 2.42) on Thursday. Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys . As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday. Cheap Bears Jerseys Authentic . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.cheapbearsjerseysauthentic.com/.Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to be leaning the fiscally responsible way.Let me put it like this: Its going to be a challenge, Jones said of re-signing both of Dallas biggest potential free agents. Chicago Bears Jerseys China . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. Cheap Bears Jerseys . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Wall made a dazzling move late in the third quarter, hitting a reverse spinning layup, and then was involved in fourth-quarter scuffle. He took exception to a hard foul from Quincy Acy, retaliating with a shove. The New York forward swung his right arm as if to throw a punch before holding up. Acy received a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected with 5:31 remaining. Wall received a technical foul. Bradley Beal had 17 points and Kris Humphries scored 14 off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a win in their first game on Christmas since 2008. Washington earned its fourth straight win at Madison Square Garden and fifth overall against the Knicks, who have dropped eight consecutive home games, the longest streak in a single season in team history. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Jose Calderon added 16 for New York, which has lost 16 of its last 17 games overall. Final Score: Oklahoma City 114, San Antonio 106 San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook turned in another dominant performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder, minus Kevin Durant, beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-106 on Christmas Day. Westbrook totaled 35 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and five steals for the Thunder, who were without the reigning MVP Durant for a fifth straight game. Durant sprained his right ankle late in the first half of a loss to Golden State on Dec. 18. WWestbrook scored 20 in the second half, helping Oklahoma City hold off a pair of Spurs rallies.dddddddddddd Serge Ibaka added 21 points and Steven Adams donated 16 points and a career-high 15 boards. The Thunder were plus-27 with Westbrook and Adams on the floor. Seven Spurs reached double figures, with Matt Bonners 17 points leading the balanced attack. Tim Duncan scored 15, Cory Joseph and Tiago Splitter had 14 apiece and Manu Ginobili tallied 11 with a game-high 13 assists. Final Score: Miami 101, Cleveland 91 Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Cheers quickly turned to boos once Michael Baiamonte announced the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup. Dwyane Wade then went and shot the lights out in the first half. Literally. And once LeBron James finally helped put the Cavs in front early in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat had one last surge in them. Wade netted 24 of his 31 points in the first half and the Heat spoiled James return to South Beach with a 101-91 win over the Cavaliers. James, who helped the Heat to a quartet of NBA Finals appearances and a pair of titles during his four-year stay with Miami, was the first Cleveland player introduced out of its starting five. He was greeted with a standing ovation with a scattering of boos, but James wasnt able to fully sink in the reaction as Baiamonte quickly went through the rest of Clevelands lineup. The cheer was more elongated midway through the opening frame when the Heat played a video tribute. James acknowledged the applause by waving to the crowd. James finished with 30 points and eight assists. ' ' '