ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Gil Meche was hoping to make a triumphant return to the major leagues, but he was no match for the Texas Rangers.
Juan Gonzalez belted two home runs and Alex Rodriguez added a solo shot as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Colby Lewis (1-0) earned his second major league win, allowing three runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Meche (1-0), who was making his first appearance in a major league game since 2000, surrendered six runs and nine hits in seven innings. He missed the last two seasons while recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Rangers jumped on Meche for four runs in the first, highlighted by Gonzalez's three-run shot. The Mariners halved the deficit on Mike Cameron's two-run homer in the fourth, but Meche gave up solo blasts to Rodriguez and Gonzalez in the fourth.
"It was the big part of the their lineup," Meche said. "I guess I was aiming the ball, trying to place the ball perfect. I wasn't as aggressive (after two-year layoff) with the middle of the lineup. I had a bad first inning, they put up a four spot before I knew what happened." It was Gonzalez's 44th multi-homer game. The two homers gave Gonzalez 408 for his career, moving him past Duke Snider for 33rd on the all-time list.
"It felt good to produce in the middle of the lineup," Gonzalez said. Lewis was removed after allowing an RBI double to Edgar Martinez in the seventh.
"It's nice to get the first one out of the way," Lewis said. "Hopefully now we can get on a roll. I'd like to win 10 to 15 (games), that's one of my goals." Hank Blalock, who went 4-for-5, hit his second homer in as many days in the eighth, a two-run shot off Julio Mateo. The Rangers have hit 12 homers, accounting for 21 of their 23 runs this season.
"I was just trying to concentrate and get a good pitch to hit with two strikes," Blalock said. "The pitch (home run) was up a little bit and I just reacted." Seattle scored its final run in the ninth on Brett Boone's RBI double off Ugueth Urbina, who recorded the final five outs for his second save of the season.
Randy Winn went 3-or-5 for the Mariners, while Boone and Cameron had two hits apiece.
Seattle has dropped five of its last six at the Ballpark in Arlington. The Mariners were swept in a four-game series here in September.
