TORONTO, 2 July 2005 — Kevin Mench belted three home runs and Mark Teixeira added a pair of his own as the Texas Rangers routed the Los Angeles Angels 18-5 in American League play in Arlington on Thursday.
It was the first three-homer game for Mench as the Rangers hit eight round-trippers to tie a franchise record.
Mench drove in five runs with his three blasts and Teixeira took over the AL lead with 22, driving in four runs.David Dellucci, Alfonso Soriano and Hank Blalock also homered for the Rangers, who had 15 hits.
Chris Young (8-4) got the win, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings, striking out seven and walking one.
In other games, Freddy Garcia pitched a complete game five-hitter as the Chicago White Sox thumped the Tigers 6-1 in Detroit.
Garcia (8-3) allowed just one unearned run with eight strikeouts and a walk in a game that took just 2:08 to play after a two-hour rain delay before the first pitch.
Mike Maroth (5-9) allowed five runs on six hits over seven innings for the loss. Vance Wilson drove in Detroit’s lone run.
In Oakland, Dan Johnson and Bobby Crosby both homered as the Athletic beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 for their seventh straight victory. Dan Haren (7-7) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings for the win, striking out three and walking one.
Gil Meche (8-5) allowed three runs — just one earned — on four hits in 4 2?3 innings to take the loss. Raul Ibanez and Bret Boone both homered for Seattle. In Baltimore, Jake Westbrook pitched seven strong innings as the Cleveland Indians beat the Orioles 9-3. Westbrook (6-9) allowed three runs on four hits with one strikeout and three walks.
Nationals Make Capital Gains With Win over Pirates
In Washington, Vinny Castilla and Brian Schneider hit home runs as the Washington Nationals continued their great home form with a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in National League play on Thursday.
Then Nationals completed a three-game series sweep of the Pirates in winning for the 15th time in their past 16 home games, including their ninth straight at RFK Stadium.
Leading the NL East in their first season in the U.S. capital after moving from Montreal, Washington set a franchise record with their 20th win in the month of June.
Castilla and Schneider both had two of the Nationals’s eight hits, with the former driving in three runs and the latter a pair.
In other games, Pedro Martinez pitched six strong innings for his ninth win as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in New York.
Martinez (9-2) allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks and four relievers completed the eight hitter, including Braden Looper who pitched the ninth for his 16th save.
In Chicago, Carlos Lee hit a pair of home runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cubs 10-6. Lee has 22 homers on the season and drove in three runs while Damian Miller also went deep, had three hits and drove in two runs.
Chris Capuano (8-6) allowed five runs — four earned — on seven hits over six innings and got the win.
