ARLINGTON, Texas _ Carlos Gomez found himself surrounded at his locker Wednesday morning as reporters checked to see if he had anything to prove this weekend against the Houston Astros, the team that released him earlier this month.
"I'm just concentrating on the game we have today," the left fielder said. "We have enough problems today to face King Felix. I just came from the media room to get a plan on what I'm trying to do today."
That was some fine planning, but he wasn't the only Texas Rangers hitter with a good plan.
Gomez connected for a grand slam against Felix Hernandez in a five-run fourth inning, and Rougned Odor hit two homers and drove in five runs as the Rangers cruised past the Seattle Mariners, 14-1, for a sweep of the three-game series.
Gomez's third career grand slam was his second home run since joining the Rangers last week and his first since his first at-bat Aug. 25. After enduring an 0-for-18 skid, Gomez collected two hits Tuesday and had the grand slam and walk against Hernandez.
The Rangers have won six of seven games since Gomez joined the team.
"It's a good thing," Gomez said. "I wasn't producing with my bat, but we were winning games. We played two really good teams in the playoff race. When we play that kind of baseball, it shows how good we are."
Adrian Beltre and Ryan Rua also hit homers as the Rangers launched five against Hernandez and three relievers, and Martin Perez tossed six scoreless innings to snap a two-start losing streak.
The win allowed the Rangers to maintain an 8{-game lead over the second-place Houston Astros, who visit Globe Life Park on Friday to kick off another important three-game series.
The Rangers are 6-1 on their 10-game homestand, with the only loss Friday against Cleveland. Perez started that one, allowing six runs for the second consecutive start, but on Wednesday he pitched out trouble in four of his innings and held the Mariners hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
"As a pitcher, when the team supports you you just compete hard, but at the same time you feel comfortable," Perez said.
Gomez provided the comfort, walking to start the third and scoring the game's first run on a Nomar Mazara groundout following a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt.
Carlos Beltran beat an infield shift to open the fourth with a single, Beltre walked, and Mitch Moreland followed two batters later with another walk. That brought up Gomez, who fouled off a Hernandez fastball before launching a hanging changeup.
Gomez said that he was looking for pitches up in the zone rather than chasing Hernandez's sinker and beating it into the ground.
"That pitch, he was supposed to throw it down," Gomez said. "In the at-bat before, I was swinging at pitches down. I just said I'm going to get it up. He threw me that changeup, and it was up. When you're looking for a specific pitch in an area, it's hard to miss it."
The Rangers have scored 46 runs in their past six wins. Odor has three homers in his past six at-bats, including the two-run walk-off shot he hit Tuesday, and a team-high 27 home runs this season.
He connected for a two-run shot in the seventh and a three-run shot in the eighth. Beltre's home run, a two-run shot in the fifth, was No. 438 of his career to move him into a tie with Andre Dawson for 43rd on the all-time list.
The offense, which was shut out three times in an 18-10 August, might be finding its footing.
"There's no doubt we have a good lineup," said Beltre, now 37th all time with 1,556 RBIs. "Beating a pitcher like Felix says something about this offense. We haven't probably played how we wanted the last month or so, but the offense is clicking better. Hopefully that will be better the last few weeks we have left."
The Rangers have made life difficult on starting pitchers of late, even Corey Kluber in their loss Friday. Pitch counts have soared during grinding at-bats, and the Rangers have produced runs in a variety of ways.
The long ball has lifted them in the past two.
"Our hitting coaches put together a great plan," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "They put together a strong plan against the starter, and have a backup plan when we're challenged. They're prepared for whomever goes out and faces them. Our guys have great confidence in that."
