Blanks' four-hit game helps Rangers end skid

ARLINGTON -- Two weeks ago, Kyle Blanks was a Triple-A first baseman hitting .115 playing for his third organization in two years.

Now, he's a big league first baseman -- one who played a crucial part in helping the Rangers snap a four-game losing streak with an 8-7 comeback win over the A's on Saturday at Globe Life Park. Blanks tied a career high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with his second home run in as many nights and three RBIs.

"He had an exceptional night," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Those are things he was doing in Triple-A. He was swinging the bat very well. He had quality at-bats, obviously with the home run. He controlled the strike zone. He put good passes on the ball and barreled the baseball."

After having only three hits in his first 26 at-bats with Triple-A Round Rock, Blanks pounded out 14 in his next 26, earning himself a promotion Wednesday when fellow first baseman Mitch Moreland landed on the disabled list with an elbow injury.

Blanks went 0-for-3 in his Rangers debut Wednesday, but homered Friday for his only hit in four at-bats. Then he broke it open Saturday, notching hits in his first four trips to the plate, including a towering 379-foot solo shot to left to lead off the sixth. Blanks also had an RBI double over the head of right fielder Josh Reddick in the first inning and an RBI single in the four-run seventh.

"I felt good," said Blanks, who also singled in the third. "I had a good rhythm. I took good swings. I did everything I was trying to do today."

His performance marked the first four-hit game for a Ranger this season and helped the team pick up a much-needed victory. The Rangers had lost four in a row before Saturday, the last of which saw them blow a 5-0 eighth-inning lead.

"There's no win that's more important than any other," Blanks said. "But being able to put that game [Friday] behind us and do exactly what they did to us, give up the lead but come back and fight through it, that's a great way to come back to the clubhouse."