Rangers’ big bats, Hamels lead way past Tribe

ARLINGTON — Cole Hamels has put himself into the thick of the American League Cy Young Award discussion with a stellar second half. That continued on Thursday night, when the Rangers’ ace overpowered the Indians, and the offense was equally as potent, in a 9-0 victory in the opener of the four-game set between division leaders.

Over eight innings, Hamels baffled the AL Central-leading Tribe, which managed just a pair of singles and struck out eight times against the lefty. Backing Hamels’ strong outing were a pair of three-run home runs — one apiece for Carlos Gomez and Adrian Beltre off Indians starter Josh Tomlin. Gomez’s shot in the second came in his first at-bat with Texas, which signed him on Saturday.

Dating back to the All-Star break, Hamels has turned in a 1.59 ERA with a .212 opponents’ batting average and 58 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings for the Rangers, who have a seven-game lead over Seattle in the AL West. 

Tomlin was charged with eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings and now has a 7.51 ERA across his past nine outings. Cleveland had its lead trimmed to 4 1/2 games over Detroit in the Central.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDGomez lifts off in debut: Gomez launched the second pitch he saw in his Rangers debut into the left-field seats for a three-run home run to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead in the second, his fifth homer of the season. The line-drive home run came off of Gomez’s bat at an estimated 107 mph and traveled 415 feet, per Statcast™. It was Gomez’s first home run since July 17 and immediately tied his season high for RBIs in a …

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