SAN DIEGO -- The Rangers turned San Diego into Muscle Beach on Tuesday.
Texas broke away from its offensive malaise in a big win, thumping the Padres, 11-0, to split the two Interleague games in San Diego. Three Rangers home runs paced the outburst.
The Rangers had lost three straight before flexing their biceps. Among the reasons for their funk was a batting order which showed little spunk.
"The walks, the on-base, the stringing of at-bats together; it isn't particularly all just hits," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said after the win, which capped a 3-6 road trip. "Putting them together is necessary. There were some at-bats that were strung together very well."
Texas didn't waste time pummeling Padres starter Jered Weaver. They plopped five runs on the scoreboard in the first inning, and it was a Southern California cruise to the tape from there.
Ryan Rua had the big blow in the opening frame, as he ambushed Weaver's elevated slider 426 feet for a three-run homer. It seemed the Rangers exhaled after that, with doubt and baseballs leaving the park at almost the same rate.

"Everybody knows that talent in here, the coaching staff, the players, and we had a couple of rough patches," Rua said. "But we know what we can do."
But with the team's recent pop, some wondered what had happened before.
"It's just baseball," Rua said. "There's no panic from us. It's a long season, and this was a good way to get off the road trip.
"Sometimes you have to try and not do too much when things go kind of south. A lot of guys put pressure on themselves. That's why those five runs in the first inning was huge."
Joey Gallo went yard in the third, as it was clear Weaver's veteran cleverness wouldn't compensate for a compromised fastball that seldom reached the mid-80s. Gallo's two-run blast was his team-high 11th of the year, but he was just as jazzed about his single and walk.

"Home runs are nice," Gallo said, noting he hit one in San Diego in a prep All-Star game, too. "But the single I was happy on. I was able to beat the shift and go the other way; I let the ball get deep. And I was happy with my walk. I'm just trying to remain patient at the plate and today was a step in the right direction for me."
Robinson Chirinos completed the dinger hat trick in the seventh with a two-run homer. The 11 runs were more than the scuffling Rangers had scored in their previous four games.

When the Rangers hit home runs, they aren't bad, going 12-13. When their flies stay in the park, they aren't as good, going 2-7.
"I don't think anyone in here is panicking or nervous that we aren't doing things well enough -- that's baseball,'' Gallo said. "There are going to be days like today and days like yesterday. It would be nice to do this every day, but that is just not how it works.''