After a rough first two weeks at the plate, Saltalamacchia caught fire last week and went 9-for-20 in his first five starts on a road trip to raise his batting average from .176 to .278.

But he's also proving himself behind the plate. Saltalamacchia threw out the first four runners who tried to steal against him this season and entered the week 4-for-5. Last year, he was just 8-for-64 at catching runners. That followed a 1-for-17 mark after the Rangers acquired him in July, 2007.

After a forearm injury ended his 2008 season early, Saltalamacchia spent a lot of time working with player development director Scott Servais, a former major league catcher. Then he went to the Dominican Republic to play for a month.

"We worked a lot on blocking, throwing -- all aspects of catching," Saltalamacchia told mlb.com. "I'm staying lower in my crouch and when I come out of it instead of standing straight up. If you stand straight up, you have less accuracy."

Said manager Ron Washington: "I just think his motion and mechanics are much more compact. He receives the ball in good position, his footwork is better and that results in proper arm speed."

ORIOLES 8, RANGERS 5: On the verge of clinching a winning road trip and evening their record at 10-10, the Rangers built a 5-1 lead and knocked Baltimore's starter out of the game heading to the bottom of the fifth. And then everything changed. RHP Brandon McCarthy surrendered a leadoff homer and three more hits in the inning to bring Baltimore within a run. RHP Jason Jennings allowed a three-run homer to give the Orioles the lead in the sixth. The Rangers managed only one baserunner over the final four innings, a leadoff double in the ninth by PH Andruw Jones. But 3B Michael Young, DH Hank Blalock and CF Marlon Byrd were retired in order to end the game.