Rangers belt five homers, beat Indians 12-7

GOOD JOB - Texas' Ian Kinsler (5) congratulates Josh Hamilton for a first-inning home run. The Rangers had five homers and beat Cleveland, 12-7, on Tuesday. They'll face the Tribe again tonight.

ARLINGTON (AP) - The Texas Rangers needed a fivehomer game from an alreadysurging offense to cover up for their overtaxed pitching staff.

Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley hit consecutive homers to set the tone in a four-run first inning and the Rangers went on to a 12-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

The Rangers (30- 30) host Cleveland again tonight at 7 p.m.

Hamilton went deep in his careerhigh fourth straight game one out after Ian Kinsler led off with a single to extend his career-best hitting streak to 18 games. Hamilton's two-run drive gave him 17 homers and 67 RBIs, tops in the AL in both categories.

Bradley followed with his first of two homers, going back-toback with Hamilton for the second time this season to help the Rangers end a two-game skid and return to .500 (30-30).

Texas' David Murphy had a homer among his four hits. Jarrod Saltalamacchia also connected for the Rangers, whose five homers gave them an AL-best 73.

"Right now we have to swing the bats to win games," Kinsler said. "That's the approach we're taking. We have to score a lot of runs. The pitching will come around. They're just going through a rough time."

Hamilton won AL Player of the Month for April and May, and he has a good start on June.

"It doesn't matter what they're throwing, he's playing like Superman right now," Murphy said.

"He's swinging it better than anyone in baseball," said Indians manager Eric Wedge, who ordered an intentional walk for Hamilton in the second inning, the first time Hamilton has received an intentional pass this season. "He's an inspired player right now."

Rangers pitchers had given up 26 runs in their previous two games, so Tuesday night represented a little progress.

The Texas bullpen, overworked because the starting pitching has been spotty, has allowed 20 runs in its last three games.

"We can't keep going like that," said Rangers manager Ron Washington, who added that he'll have to bring up some relief help from the minors Wednesday. "We're going to have to pitch well and catch the baseball. You can't always outslug people. You wanna talk about adversity, we've been able to handle it. If we can make it through this stretch and get back to normal everything will be fine."

Brandon Boggs added an RBI single against Tom Mastny (0-1), making his first major league start after 68 career relief appearances.

Mastny struggled through a 37-pitch first inning and lasted only 1 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and six hits. Mastny was replacing Jake Westbrook, on the disabled list Monday with an inflamed right elbow.

A disappointed Mastny said after the game that he'd been told he would be send down to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.

"I tried to go out and give the team some innings but it didn't work out," Mastny said. "I've started before (in the minors). I just didn't do my job. I'll go to Triple-A and work on some things and try to get back here."

Frank Francisco (1-1) allowed one run and one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

Rangers rookie A.J. Murray, called up from Triple-A Oklahoma to make his second major league start, exited in the third inning with a left rotator cuff strain. The Rangers said Murray would be out seven to 10 days and would then be re-evaluated.

Bradley's solo shot in a threerun eighth extended Texas' lead to 12-6.

Murray didn't allow a run in the first two innings, but the Indians loaded the bases with nobody out in the third, then got an RBI single from Ben Francisco. After Ryan Garko was retired on a pop-up, Rangers trainers and Washington hurried to the mound where Murray told them he was unable to continue.

Texas increased its lead to 8-2 in the fifth on Kinsler's sacrifice fly and Michael Young's RBI double.

Young stretched his hitting streak to 19 games, longest in the AL this season and secondlongest of his career behind a 25- gamer in 2005.

Pinch hitter Shin-shoo Choo had a two-run double in the seventh and a solo homer in the ninth. Ryan Garko's RBI groundout in the eighth made it 9-6, but the Indians couldn't get any closer.