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Hamilton powers Rangers past Royals

May 1, 2008 - 5:04 AM By Jay Miller PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Josh Hamilton hit a grand slam and the Texas Rangers totaled five homers in an 11-9 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Hamilton's blast pushed his RBI total to 32 this season - the highest mark in the major leagues.

"It was good, but I wouldn't have been able to put up the numbers I did if I hadn't had guys on base," Hamilton said of his blistering start. "Hopefully, we can keep things going, personally and as a team, too. But you never know in this game."

Hamilton's RBI total ranks second in Rangers history for the month of April behind Juan Gonzalez's 35 in April 1998, which started the slugger's run to his second Most Valuable Player Award.

Rookie Brandon Boggs hit his first career blast and David Murphy, Milton Bradley and Gerald Laird also homered for the Rangers, who became the last team in the majors to reach the 10-win mark (10-18).

Texas did most of its damage against Kansas City starter Brian Bannister (3-3), who suffered through his worst outing of the season. The young righthander was charged with seven runs and seven hits in just three innings.

The wind, which was gusting over 30 miles per hour through most of the game, wreaked havoc on pitchers and fielders alike.

"It felt like I was pitching on the moon. On a night like this, the odds are stacked against me," Bannister said. "The ball was coming off the bat like a superball. This was like Coors Field on steroids."

The Rangers opened an early 2-0 lead as Michael Young singled to extend his American League-leading hitting streak to 14 games and scored on a two-run homer by Bradley.

Boggs extended the advantage to 3-0 with a solo shot to right in the second. The blast extended Boggs' perfect hitting performance in the majors, as he went 2-for-2 in Tuesday's 9-5 loss to the Royals. He made it an even 4-for-4 with a single in the third.

"My confidence is real high right now," Boggs said. "I still have to come out here and do my job."

Texas' assault continued with two outs in the second, as German Duran and Ian Kinsler singled, Young walked and Hamilton homered to left-center, pushing the lead to 7-0.

Kansas City got on the board in the third against Kevin Millwood (2-2) when Joey Gathright tripled off the bottom of the left field wall and scored on Mark Grudzielanek's single to center. Millwood settled down after the inning, holding the Royals hitless over the next three frames.

"I started missing some spots in the seventh and leaving balls out over the plate," Millwood said. "It's nice to get some runs on the board early, but it's definitely not one of the better games I've pitched this year."

The Royals pulled within three with a five-run seventh. Leadoff hitter John Buck was hit by a pitch from Millwood and scored on back-to-back hits by Tony Pena Jr. and Gathright.

David DeJesus then chased Millwood from the contest with a two-run homer to right field. Reliever Frank Francisco was ineffective - allowing three of the four batters he faced to reach and giving up a run - before Jamey Wright came in to squelch the Royals' rally.