SAN FRANCISCO _ Elvis Andrus didn't see any reason to hit the panic button. Neither did general manager Jon Daniels with the baseball season being just over a week old going into Sunday's series finale at San Francisco.
The Rangers' offense would come around, they said. Well, a few hours later both were proven right. The Rangers had their best offensive showing of the season in a 9-5 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.
The nine runs were half of what the Rangers had scored in their first seven games (18) combined.
Outfielder Scott Heineman got the offense started with a two-run double in the second inning. Jeff Mathis followed with an RBI single off Giants starter Jeff Samardzija.
Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo then delivered a two-run homer off Samardzija in the fifth inning to build a 5-1 lead.
The Giants, though, rallied back to tie the game with one run in the fifth and three in the sixth. The runs in the sixth were courtesy of a solo shot by Evan Longoria off Rangers reliever Ian Gibaut, and a two-run homer by Chadwick Tromp off Jesse Chavez.
But Texas answered. Joey Gallo had a three-run home run as part of a four-run seventh, and the Rangers' bullpen shut it down from there. Gallo finished the day 3 for 4, including the home run and a two-out double in the ninth.
Right-hander Jonathan Hernandez threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and Edinson Volquez pitched the ninth.
"It's a pretty good win, especially going into an off day," Gallo said.
