ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre hit his 399th career home run, newcomer Thomas Field hit his first and the Texas Rangers beat the weary Kansas City Royals 8-2 Monday night.
Prince Fielder also homered for the Rangers to back Colby Lewis (3-2), who beat the Royals for the first time since 2003 by limiting them to one run and three hits over seven innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked two.
The defending AL champion Royals didn’t arrive in Texas until about 5:45 a.m. Monday after their 10-inning, rain-delayed victory at Detroit that ended after midnight.
Danny Duffy (2-2), who travelled ahead of his teammates, matched his career high with six walks while pitching only 3 2-3 innings. He struck out four while giving up six runs and five hits.
Beltre homered for the second time in two days, and fourth time this season. His two-run shot in the fourth made it 6-1 and matched him with Al Kaline and Andres Galarraga for 52nd all-time on MLB’s career home run list.
Field, called up earlier Monday after struggling second baseman Rougned Odor was sent to Triple-A Round Rock, led off the seventh with a homer into the visitors bullpen in left-centre field. Field played his 34th career MLB game, his first for Texas.
Texas went ahead to stay with four runs in the second, when Duffy walked the first three batters before No. 9 batter Delino DeShields hit a two-run double. A wild pitch by the lefty sent home another run before Shin-Soo Choo had an RBI single.
That came after Duffy didn’t make it out of the second inning of his previous start Wednesday against Cleveland.
Choo, who has an 11-game hitting streak but is still hitting only .194 on the season, had a leadoff single in the fourth before Beltre’s blast on the last of Duffy’s 97 pitches.
Fielder homered leading off the eighth. His third of the year matched his total in his Rangers debut last season, when he played only 42 games before neck surgery.
Kendrys Morales had an RBI single for the Royals in the fourth. Mike Moustakas was thrown out also trying to score on that hit when centre fielder Leonys Martin threw a strike to the plate that beat him by several steps.
