ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — C.J. Wilson pitched his second complete game and Vladimir Guerrero homered again to lead the Texas Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night and keep reigning AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke winless in 2010.
Guerrero homered on the first pitch leading off the second, his third consecutive at-bat over two games with a home run. That put the Rangers ahead to stay against Greinke (0-4), the right-hander who made his seventh start of the season.
Wilson (3-1), the converted reliever who earned a spot in the rotation this spring, allowed only five singles in his first career nine-inning complete game. The left-hander had a six-inning complete game in a rain-shortened 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees on April 16 in his second start of the season.
With the crowd chanting "C-J!, C-J!" in the ninth, Wilson struck out Jason Kendall to end the game. He struck out four and walked two in 113 pitches and lowered his ERA to 1.51, third-best in the American League.
The three consecutive homers by Guerrero came in a span of four pitches. He homered in his last two at-bats Thursday night against the Royals, a two-run blast in the sixth and then a tiebreaking solo shot on an 0-1 pitch in the eight inning of Rangers' 13-12 victory to open the four-game seires.
A sacrifice fly in the third inning Friday ended Guerrero's homer streak, but gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead.
Greinke matched a season high by allowing four runs, three of them earned, over seven innings. His ERA increased from 2.27 to a still outstanding 2.51 — though he will have to wait until next week for another chance to finally win a game. He struck out three and walked one while throwing 73 of 108 pitches for strikes.
In his previous start Sunday at Tampa Bay, Greinke threw an 87-pitch complete game. He lost 1-0 on Evan Longoria's solo homer in the fourth inning.
Julio Borbon snapped a 3-for-21 slump with a leadoff double for the Rangers in the fifth. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Elvis Andrus before coming home on Michael Young's second single of the game.
After Guerrero's homer in the second, David Murphy had a one-out double and moved to third on a deep flyball. Murphy scored when shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt dropped an popup for an error.
Betancourt singled to lead off the third and scored on a single by Billy Butler.
NOTES: The Rangers have won 8 of 11 games. ... The game lasted only 2 hours, 9 minutes, the shortest at Rangers Ballpark since a two-hour game May 29, 2006 against Seattle.
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