Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Donnie Murphy hit two home runs and drove in three as the Texas Rangers roughed up the Oakland Athletics, 14-8, in the opener of a three-game series.
Robinson Chirinos hit a home run and drove in three, while Adrian Beltre added three RBI for the Rangers, who have won four of their last five.
"We needed every run," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
Colby Lewis (5-4) got the win despite giving up five runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings of work.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs for the Athletics, who had won three of four coming in.
Drew Pomeranz (5-4) was pulled with two outs in the fourth inning and was charged for eight runs -- seven earned -- on eight hits and a pair of walks to drop his second decision in three outings.
"Just not as good tonight," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Pomeranz. "Wasn't hitting the glove like we've seen before."
The A's grabbed an early lead on an RBI single from John Jaso and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cespedes in the first inning.
Texas, though, got them both back in second thanks to a two-run single from Chirinos.
The Rangers then went on top in the fourth and they got a pair of quick runs as Alex Rios led off the frame with a single and Murphy followed with his third home run of the season.
Later in the frame, Dan Robertson singled home one run, a fielder's choice by Elvis Andrus brought in another, and Beltre punched a two-run double to right for an 8-2 lead.
A two-run home run from Michael Choice in the fifth was countered by a Brandon Moss solo home run in the home half.
Beltre's sacrifice fly in the sixth made it an 11-3 game, but the A's further trimmed their deficit in the home portion as Coco Crisp doubled home one run, and Cespedes smacked a three-run home run to left-center to make it an 11-7 contest.
Alberto Callaspo gave a one-out RBI single in the seventh that left runners on first and second, but Neal Cotts got Crisp to pop out and struck out Kyle Blanks to end the inning.
Shin-Soo Choo's grounder to second in the eighth was misplayed by Callaspo, allowing Robertson to score for a 12-8 game, while Murphy and Chirinos hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth for a six-run advantage.
Game Notes
Texas won three in Oakland from April 21-23, while Oakland won three in Texas from April 28-30 ... Lewis improved to 8-4 in 21 games against the A's ... Texas went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while Oakland was 4- for-11 and stranded 12.
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