Beltre slam, solid Perez carry Rangers past Athletics 5-2

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam not long after Texas ended a 24-inning scoreless streak and Martin Perez pitched seven strong innings for his first win since late June, leading the Rangers to a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

Beltre's 100th home run at Globe Life Park, which went about a dozen rows above the 14-foot wall in left field, came against former teammate Ross Detwiler (1-1) in the fifth inning with Texas trailing 2-1.

The decisive homer, Beltre's 10th career slam, came three batters after Shin-Soo Choo fractured his left forearm when he was hit by a pitch.

The AL West-leading Rangers were coming off consecutive shutout losses at home to Detroit and were an out shy of 25 straight scoreless innings when Elvis Andrus lined a single to right in the fourth.

Perez (8-8) gave up five hits and two runs -- one earned -- with six strikeouts in seven innings. He had gone 0-4 over eight starts since a 6-2 win against Boston on June 26.

The left-hander set a Texas record with his 32nd groundball double play, an inning-ender by Brett Eibner in the fourth. C.J. Wilson had the previous mark of 31 in 2011. Perez got another one to end the sixth.

Matt Bush struck out two in a perfect eighth, and Sam Dyson got another double play in the ninth for his 27th save.

Beltre's 19th homer, which gave him 432 to break a tie with Cal Ripken on the career list, came after singles from Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran following the pitch that hit Choo. It was Beltre's first slam since April 2, 2011, his second game with the Rangers.

Coming off eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Baltimore in his first big league start this season, Detwiler held the Rangers scoreless for three innings but didn't make it out of the fifth. He gave up seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Ryon Healy led off the second with his sixth homer to give Oakland a 2-0 lead.

CHOO OUT AGAIN

Choo is headed to the disabled list for the fourth time this year, perhaps with a season-ending injury. He was injured when he checked his swing on Detwiler's pitch inside, immediately going to one knee holding the area near his left wrist. He left after spending several minutes talking to an athletic trainer and was replaced by Nomar Mazara.

The 34-year-old Choo has been limited to 45 games by calf and hamstring strains and lower back inflammation. Team spokesman John Blake said the injury was similar to one sustained in April by catcher Robinson Chirinos, who missed two months.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Andrew Triggs (0-1, 5.50 ERA) is in his eighth stint with Oakland this season. He has two starts among his first 20 appearances, including a 9-6 loss to Baltimore last week.

Rangers: RHP Lucas Harrell (3-2, 4.20 AL/NL) is scheduled for his fourth start with Texas while facing the prospect of being replaced in the rotation by Derek Holland, who is eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list Saturday following a bout with left shoulder inflammation.