ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Rangers' offense had been feeling the absence of reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton.
Texas lost six of eight since the reigning AL MVP broke his right shoulder on April 12, keeping him out as long as two months.
The Rangers regained their home run stroke on Friday night with the help of a brisk wind blowing out to right field, going deep five times in an 11-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy, Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland all homered.
"We still believe we have a great lineup," Napoli said. "It was a tough situation with Ham going down, but we all believe we can put up runs every night. We struggled a little bit, but we're not panicking."
Kinsler's two-out solo shot in the fourth put the Rangers ahead for good after the Royals tied it with five runs in the top half.
Murphy's two-run blast in the fifth made it 8-5, and Beltre went deep with the bases empty in the sixth to give Texas a four-run cushion.
Moreland added a two-run homer in the seventh to complete the long-ball barrage.
"We did a good job of just keeping it in the big part of the field," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "By doing that, we were able to center some balls and do some good things."
Texas starter Derek Holland (3-1) struck out nine and gave up five runs and seven hits over seven innings.
Kansas City starter Jeff Francis (0-2) was knocked around for six runs — five earned— and nine hits in four-plus innings.
Michael Young, Kinsler and Beltre all had three hits for Texas. The Royals' offense simply couldn't keep pace
"They were much more proficient at utilizing the jet stream than we were," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "They actually hit a couple of good pitches. We just got a couple up. They're a tremendous fly ball-hitting team with a lot of pop, a lot of power."
Brayan Pena homered for the Royals, who've dropped four of six.
Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning RBI single.
In the third, Young's run-scoring triple off the center field wall, Beltre's RBI double, and Napoli's two-run shot made it 5-0.
The Royals answered with their five-run fourth highlighted by Pena's three-run blast.
Also in the fourth, Jeff Francoeur extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double, and Wilson Betemit stretched his streak to 13 games with a run-scoring single.
Holland responded with three scoreless innings while his teammates provided more offense.
"Once that's over, you don't sit and dwell on it," Holland said. "You move on and keep your team in it."
Kansas City threatened in the third with runners on first and third and one out. Melky Cabrera hit a grounder to second, and Kinsler threw to second to force Chris Getz.
The relay to first by shortstop Elvis Andrus was wild, but Cabrera was called out because Getz veered out of the baseline while sliding into Andrus in an attempt to break up the double play.
Notes: A postgame fireworks show was canceled by City of Arlington officials because of the wind. ... Kansas City's Alex Gordon pushed his career-best hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single in the fourth. ... RHP Brandon Webb will report to the Rangers' spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz. on Saturday to continue his rehab from right rotator cuff surgery. Webb will throw two innings (with a 35-pitch limit) in an extended spring training game on Monday. Texas RHP Scott Feldman will work two innings in an extended spring game on Saturday, and RHP Tommy Hunter will throw Rangers batting practice on Monday. All three are on the 15-day DL. ... Francoeur and C Matt Treanor received their AL championship rings from Washington on the field prior to the game. "Francoeur brought a lot of energy, kept the bench loose, and when he got out there against left-handers he produced," Washington said. "Matt was certainly an integral part of our club. They did a lot for us and right now they're doing a lot for Kansas City."
