Rangers find long-ball range

ARLINGTON, Texas – Kevin Mench and his Texas teammates went to their strength Thursday: the long ball.

Mench hit three homers and Mark Teixeira had two as Texas hit eight home runs in a game for the second time this season, leading the Rangers to an 18-5 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Alfonso Soriano, Hank Blalock and David Dellucci also connected for the Rangers, who matched their record for homers in a game.

“We were able to outslug them,” Mench said.

During the game, Rangers owner Tom Hicks said Major League Baseball will decide whether to discipline Texas pitcher Kenny Rogers for an outburst Wednesday that sent a television cameraman to the hospital and prompted a police investigation. A decision could come today, and Hicks said a suspension was “probably likely.”

“At this point there’s nothing the Texas Rangers will or can do,” Hicks said. “We will support whatever the commissioner decides.”

Texas split the four-game series after losing the first two games by a combined score of 18-4. The Rangers trail the Angels by 6 1/2 games in the American League West.

“I’m happy with how these guys responded,” Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. “(The Angels) are one of the best teams in baseball. To beat them, we had to be firing on all cylinders.”

Mench hit a solo homer in the fifth inning against Joel Peralta and two-run homers in the sixth and seventh off Jake Woods. It was his fifth multihomer game, his second this season.

“It was a combination of things,” Mench said. “It was a hot day, there was a breeze, but we also put together some good at-bats.”

Teixeira took over the league lead in homers with 22, two ahead of teammate Soriano, who homered leading off the third, and the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez.

Texas also hit eight homers on May 21 in an 18-3 win over the Houston Astros. Texas has a major league-leading 128 home runs this season.