ARLINGTON, Texas — John Jaso drove in five runs, Matt Garza won for the first time in a month and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a weekend sweep with a 9-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Jaso had a two-run homer, a two-run single and an RBI double as the designated hitter from the leadoff spot, a day after the rookie became the first Rays catcher ever to bat first.
Carlos Pena also homered for Tampa Bay (37-20), which still has the best record in the majors and a two-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East despite a 5-8 stretch.
Garza (6-4) threw 108 pitches on a steamy day, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings. The big right-hander was 0-3 his previous five starts since May 5, when he reached five victories faster than any pitcher in Rays history.
B.J. Upton scored three runs and had three hits, with another hit taken away by a scoring change. Upton's RBI single in the sixth gave the Rays a 5-3 lead.
It took 4 hours, 6 minutes to play nine innings when the temperature was in the low 90s the entire time.
Matt Treanor hit a pair of solo homers, putting Texas up 1-0 in the second before going deep again in the ninth.
Texas starter Rich Harden (3-2) lost for the first time in seven weeks, though the right-hander has been less than impressive in his nine starts since losing at Yankee Stadium on April 18.
Harden threw 111 pitches and allowed four runs, three earned, with six strikeouts over five innings. The Rangers' top free-agent acquisition last winter, with a contract that guarantees him $7.5 million this season, Harden has pitched 5 1/3 innings or less in six consecutive starts.
Garza struck out four and walked two to snap a three-game losing streak that matched the longest in his career.
The Rays never trailed after Jaso's third homer made it 2-1 in the third. Upton was on base after an error by third baseman Michael Young, a play initially ruled a base hit before being changed by the official scorer three innings later.
Pena snapped a 5-for-51 slump with his ninth homer leading off the fourth.
After Upton's leadoff double in the fifth, Jaso reached when shortstop Elvis Andrus dropped a popup in the middle of the infield. Evan Longoria's RBI single then made it 4-2.
Jaso's two-run single in the eighth ended reliever Frank Francisco's string of 12 consecutive scoreless appearances. Jaso added the RBI double in the ninth.
Texas was within 5-4 when Josh Hamilton had a pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth, two batters and the second pitcher after Justin Smoak's RBI single chased Garza. Hamilton was not in the starting lineup after having a cortisone injection in his sore right knee Saturday.
David Murphy's grounder in the fourth drove home a run to get Texas within 3-2, but Vladimir Guerrero was thrown out trying to score on Smoak's grounder to first. Guerrero had already avoided being retired that inning, safe when advancing on a wild pitch after he kicked the ball out of shortstop Reid Brignac's glove with his slide into second.
Notes:
After a day off Monday, the Rays play 19 of their next 31 games before the All-Star break at home. … Jaso had a stolen base in the eighth when he slid under the attempted swipe tag of Andrus. Catcher Matt Treanor's throw beat Jaso, but the runner slid under Andrus' arm without being touched. … The Rays' fourth ended when Brignac took a called third strike to end a 15-pitch at-bat. … The game-time temperature was 93 degrees, 5 degrees cooler than Saturday.