With Josh Hamilton and Yu Darvish regaining their form from the first half of the season, the Texas Rangers are beginning to pull away in the American League West.
Hamilton hit his 32nd homer and drove in three runs, Darvish struck out eight and the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 Sunday.
The Rangers are 10-3 since having their division lead cut down to three games on July 31. After Oakland lost Sunday, the Rangers now top the AL West by 6½ games.
"I just hope we can maintain what we have been doing," Hamilton said.
Hamilton is a big reason for Texas' surge. He was mired in a lengthy slump when manager Ron Washington gave him a mental day off on July 28. The slugger was then briefly dropped to the fifth spot in the lineup for the first time in two years.
The 2010 AL MVP has responded since then, hitting three home runs with 15 RBIs in 11 games. The Rangers have gone 8-3 in that span.
Hamilton had a two-run drive in the first inning, taking the major league lead and matching his career high. He added an RBI single to give him 99 RBIs, which is also tops in baseball.
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Darvish (12-8) allowed six hits and walked five to snap a personal two-game losing streak and help the Rangers take two of three from the Tigers. After starting the season 10-4, Darvish went 1-4 with a 7.04 ERA in six starts before Sunday.
"He was the king and he acted like he was the king on the mound," Washington said.
Ian Kinsler drove in two runs and Elvis Andrus scored three times. The Rangers, who knocked off the Tigers in last season's AL championship series, won the season series 7-3.
The Rangers next travel to New York for a four-game set against the Yankees in a matchup of the two top teams in the AL. "We always enjoy playing in New York," Hamilton said. "But it's just another series."
