Rangers Top Royals In Slugfest 11-6
ARLINGTON (AP) - Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler and David Murphy were among five Rangers with homers and Texas beat the Kansas City Royals 11-6 on a windy Friday night.
Kinsler's two-out solo shot in the fourth put the Rangers ahead for good after the Royals tied it with five runs in the top half.
Murphy's two-run blast in the fifth made it 8-5, and Adrian Beltre went deep with the bases empty in the sixth to give Texas a four-run cushion.
Mitch Moreland added a two-run homer in the seventh for Texas.
Texas starter Derek Holland (3-1) struck out nine and gave up five runs and seven hits over seven innings.
Kansas City starter Jeff Francis (0-2) was knocked around for six runs -- five earned-- and nine hits in four-plus innings.
Michael Young, Kinsler and Beltre all had three hits for the Rangers, who'd lost six of eight since slugger Josh Hamilton was lost for as long as two months due to a broken right shoulder.
Brayan Pena homered for the Royals, who've dropped four of six.
Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning RBI single.
In the third, Young's run-scoring triple off the center field wall, Beltre's RBI double, and Napoli's two-run shot made it 5-0.
The Royals answered with their five-run fourth highlighted by Pena's three-run blast.
Also in the fourth, Jeff Francoeur extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double, and Wilson Betemit stretched his streak to 13 games with a run-scoring single.
Kansas City threatened in the third with runners on first and third and one out. Melky Cabrera hit a grounder to second, and Kinsler threw to second to force Chris Getz.
The relay to first by shortstop Elvis Andrus was wild, but Cabrera was called out because Getz veered out of the baseline while sliding into Andrus in an attempt to break up the double play.
Notes: Kansas City's Alex Gordon pushed his career-best hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single in the fourth. ... RHP Brandon Webb will report to the Rangers' spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz. on Saturday to continue his rehab from right rotator cuff surgery. Webb will throw two innings (with a 35-pitch limit) in an extended spring training game on Monday. Texas RHP Scott Feldman will work two innings in an extended spring game on Saturday, and RHP Tommy Hunter will throw Rangers batting practice on Monday. All three are on the 15-day DL. ... Francoeur and C Matt Treanor received their AL championship rings from Rangers manager Ron Washington on the field prior to the game. "Francoeur brought a lot of energy, kept the bench loose, and when he got out there against left-handers he produced," Washington said. "Matt was certainly an integral part of our club. They did a lot for us and right now they're doing a lot for Kansas City."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
