Texas Rangers 9, Los Angeles Angels 2

Rangers even up the series with home run-heavy slugfest.

The Texas Rangers powered their way to a road victory Saturday at Angels Stadium, defeating the LA Angels 9-2. The win improved Texas to 56-37, six games ahead of the 51-44 Angels for first place in the AL West.

Photo not provided by the Texas Rangers

Texas certainly had the power Saturday afternoon.

Rangers starter Yu Darvish was excellent, allowing just two runs on three hits over seven innings. Darvish, who walked four while striking out 11, improved to 11-6 on the season with a 3.88 ERA, and did not give up a hit until the bottom of the third, when Texas already led 7-0.

Angels starter Ervin Santana was not as fortunate, giving up six runs in just one and two-thirds innings of work. Santana fell to 4-10 on the year.

Texas opened the scoring in the top of the first when Michael Young singled in Elvis Andrus to make it 1-0. In the second inning, the Rangers offense exploded. Mike Napoli led off the inning with a solo home run, which was followed by another solo home run from Yorvit Torrealba. After Craig Gentry doubled, Ian Kinsler doubled him in to make it 4-0 Texas. Andrus and Josh Hamilton then grounded out, but Adrian Beltre hit the team's third home run of the inning next, a two-run, two-out home run that made it 6-0 and chased Santana from the game.

Napoli added another solo home run, his 14th of the season, in the third, and Kinsler added a home run in the top of the eighth to cap the scoring.