ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Prince Fielder homered and had three hits, Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff home run for the second straight game and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 Wednesday night.
Choo pulled a 98 mph fastball from Yordano Ventura into the right-field seats, and Fielder gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second inning.
Texas rookie Delino DeShields had three hits, including his first triple, and scored twice.
Yovani Gallardo (3-5) took a shutout into the seventh inning before allowing run-scoring doubles by Kendrys Morales and Salvador Perez. Gallardo snapped a four-start losing streak that matched a career worst.
 
Fielder, Choo homer as Rangers beat Royals 5-2
 
The first five Texas hitters reached against Ventura (2-3), who gave up at least four runs for the fourth time in five starts.
The hard-throwing right-hander's ERA rose to 5.58 a season after he was among the best rookie pitchers in baseball. Trailing 2-0 with the bases loaded and no outs in the first, Ventura got out of the inning with two of his six strikeouts and a lineout by Thomas Field.
Ventura was the verge of escaping trouble again in the second after Elvis Andrus grounded into a double play while DeShields stayed at third. But Fielder sent his fourth homer into the seats to the right of the berm in center field.
Texas closer Neftali Feliz pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in eight chances.
Choo's grounder scored DeShields for a 5-0 lead in the fourth. The Rangers had scored just nine runs with Gallardo in the game in his first seven starts.
The right-hander who grew up in nearby Fort Worth allowed just three singles through the first six innings. He gave up six hits in seven innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
Texas' Mitch Moreland had two singles and walk in his return from the disabled list after surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. He was 0 for 11 with six walks in a four-game rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Round Rock.
 

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