Cameron Cauley tripled in the seventh inning for his first major league hit in his debut, then scored the go-ahead run on Nicky Lopez’s single as the visiting Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Monday night.

Lopez subsequently came home on Justin Foscue’s double as American League West Division-leading Texas scored twice in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead. The Rangers had tied the game in the sixth on Jake Burger’s RBI single.

Robby Ahlstrom (3-0) picked up the win with one scoreless inning of relief and Jacob Latz tossed two clean frames for his 17th save in 19 opportunities. Texas matched its longest winning streak of the year at five.

Cleveland rookie Parker Messick (7-5) lost for the fourth time in five starts, allowing four runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out five without a walk, raising his ERA to a season-high 2.85.

Second baseman Cauley went 1-for-3 with an error after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. He scored his second run in the ninth, when the Rangers upped their lead to 6-3 on Foscue’s double that also plated Evan Carter, thanks to a Steven Kwan error.

The Guardians narrowed the score to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh when Jakob Junis’ wild pitch allowed Brayan Rocchio to score. Junis sustained an undisclosed injury while warming up in the eighth, which forced closer Latz to take over.

Cleveland dropped to 2-2 during its 10-game homestand, falling one game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

The Guardians took a 2-1 lead in the fifth with a pair of runs, starting with Gabriel Arias’ leadoff homer, a 429-foot drive to left-center off Chris Paddack. Austin Hedges followed with a single, and scored on Chase DeLauter’s double inside the first base line.

Texas opened the scoring in the fourth when Josh Jung led off with a double and came home on Burger’s groundout. A sharp single by Burger in the sixth plated Carter.

Tyler Alexander served as the opener for Texas, giving up one hit in one inning with two strikeouts, and was followed by Paddack. The 31-year-old became the first big league pitcher to record saves in back-to-back contests, then start the next game.

Paddack, who went 0-7 with a 6.69 ERA in 13 appearances for the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds this year, was signed earlier in the day. The right-hander worked four innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.

–Field Level Media