Desmond, Mazara homer as Rangers roll past Indians

Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Nomar Mazara had a three-run shot in the fourth as the Texas Rangers rolled to a 9-2 victory to open a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.

Derek Holland was the beneficiary of all the offense, though he didn’t need much of it. The left-hander allowed only one run in six innings to improve to 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA in his career at Progressive Field.

Hitting: Ian Desmond briefly saw his average creep above. 300 after jump-starting the offense with a two-run homer as the game’s second batter. He then doubled to start the third to peak at .303. ... Nomar Mazara had the biggest blast in a four-run fourth, clubbing a three-run homer 448 feet, according to MLB’s Statcast. ... All four runs scored with two outs, beginning with an RBI single by Prince Fielder. ... Elvis Andrus continued his terrific hitting at Progressive Field with singles in his first three at-bats. A 3-for-4 day left his career average at Cleveland at .418.

Pitching: Derek Holland won for the first time since April 30 by allowing one run in six innings. The lone run was a sixth-inning homer by Mike Napoli. ... Holland didn’t pitch into the seventh because he had thrown 92 pitches. ... Cesar Ramos, needing some work, relieved and saw his first pitch clubbed for a homer by Marlon Byrd. ... A double play erased two Indians singles in the seventh, and Ramos got another double play to wipe out a leadoff single in the eighth. After consecutive Indians singles to open the ninth, Ramos got a third double play to kill the threat.

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Desmond, Mazara homer as Rangers roll past Indians."