ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) The Texas Rangers were set for a rare weekday afternoon sellout, fueled by thousands of schoolchildren getting a break from their routine.

Manager Ron Washington figures the kids would like to see Josh Hamilton in October, too, so he sat Hamilton and stuck with his plan to rest his key starters.

Hamilton was out of Thursday’s starting lineup against Oakland, his first absence since a hot streak that vaulted him to the major league lead in all three Triple Crown categories. He was the last of five Rangers players to sit during a four-game stretch that ended against the A’s.

”It was as simple as it was to give the rest of them a day off,” Washington said. ”Those are the guys that’s going to take us where we have to go.”

The crowd of 47,182 did get a chance to see Hamilton when he appeared as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. He grounded out, then replaced Craig Gentry in center field in the ninth. He ended up making the first out in the eighth and 10th innings, ending his AL-best 16-game hitting streak.

The former AL MVP has cooled off some since hitting .467 (14 of 30) with two doubles, nine homers and 18 RBIs over seven games. The run was sparked by the 16th four-homer game in major league history May 8 at Baltimore.

Homerless in his past five games, Hamilton is still leading the AL in average (.399), homers (18) and RBIs (45).

During a pair of two-game series against Kansas City and Oakland, Rangers manager Ron Washington has already rested Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz. The Rangers were swept by the Royals but had a chance to sweep the A’s on Thursday.

Texas is in the middle of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. The Rangers got a break with a rainout in Baltimore last week, but had to play a doubleheader the next day. Their next scheduled off day is May 24.

”I’m not used to days off,” said Young, who sat Wednesday and was the DH in Hamilton’s traditional third spot in the order Thursday. ”I like to get out there every day. But rest if always a good thing.”

Hamilton, who didn’t appear in the clubhouse when it was open to reporters before Thursday’s game, left early April 29 against Tampa Bay because of back spasms. He missed the next three games at Toronto, but his absence appeared precautionary because the Rangers were playing a rare series on artificial turf.

The four-time All-Star played only 89 games in 2009 because of an abdominal tear and a pinched nerve in his back. He missed a month of his MVP season in 2010 with broken ribs after crashing into an outfield wall making a catch. He was out six weeks last year after he broke a bone in his arm diving headfirst trying to score on a foul popout, and had surgery for a sports hernia after the World Series.

Hamilton led the AL with 130 RBIs in 2008, his first season with the Rangers. He led the league with a .359 average in 2010, when the Rangers won their first AL pennant.

(AP) BALTIMORE – Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.

The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter’s box against Baltimore right-hander Darren O’Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment.

“I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don’t hit one,” Hamilton reasoned, “I’ve still had a really good night.”

It turned out to be unforgettable.

Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday.

Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O’Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.

“Obviously it’s, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career,” Hamilton said. “I was saying after I hit two I’ve never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got.

“It reminds you of when you’re in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing.”

Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high.

“Amazing,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Josh came out tonight, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900.

“History was witnessed tonight,” Washington said.

“It’s like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in,” Hamilton said. “I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then.”

Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.

“He’s the best athlete in baseball,” teammate Nelson Cruz said of Hamilton. “If anybody can do it, he can do it.”

Elvis Andrus got on base ahead of Hamilton in each instance, said, “He kept hitting bombs and bombs. It feels really good because I don’t have to run that hard to score.”

Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent after this season, leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.

He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players. Hamilton has homered in five of his last six at-bats, counting his final trip to the plate Monday night.

Hamilton’s record-setting night is the latest accomplishment in a career that almost never was.

He went from first round draft pick in 1999 by Tampa Bay to out of baseball all together because of drug and alcohol addiction.

He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star — the AL MVP in 2010 — while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start.

“Understanding that what I’m doing and what God’s allowed me to do coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, it’s pretty amazing to think about,” Hamilton said.

Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-3 win in the series opener, Texas has won two straight for the first time since April 24-25 and are 20-10, their best-ever record after 30 games.

Dating back to last season, Texas has won seven in a row over Baltimore by a combined 70-18 score.

Rangers starter Neftali Feliz (2-1) gave up one run on four hits and had a career-high eight strikeouts. Converted to starter after notching 72 saves over the previous two seasons, Feliz had a 2-0 lead to protect before throwing his first pitch and maintained the advantage — just like when he was closer.

The Orioles entered the series with the best record in the majors after a 5-1 trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but they have looked more like a team with 14 straight losing seasons in these two games against the two-time defending AL champions.

Arrieta (2-3) allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He yielded a career-high three homers, matching the total he surrendered in his first six starts this season.

His most notable flaw was his inability to keep Hamilton from hitting the ball out of the park.

“It was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. Very special hitter,” Arrieta said on Hamilton. “He didn’t miss tonight.”

J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit consecutive solo homers for Baltimore in the eighth, long after the outcome had been decided.

The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Andrus drew a one-out walk and Hamilton hit Arrieta’s next pitch over the center-field wall.

It was more of the same in the third, and then some. After Andrus reached on a chopper off the plate, Hamilton lined an opposite-field drive into the left-field seats. Beltre followed with this sixth home run, the fourth time in 30 games that Texas has homered in successive at-bats.

Andrus singled in the seventh before Hamilton sent a drive over the center-field wall against Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game.

After that, the only suspense was whether Hamilton would get another at-bat. He did, and made it count.

NOTES: Andrus has reached base in 26 straight games. He is 16 for 33 on the road trip. … Despite Baltimore’s surprising start, the game drew a meager crowd of 11,263. … Baltimore’s Chris Davis singled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-14 skid.

BALTIMORE — Josh Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers in a history-making performance that carried the Texas Rangers to a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against Darren O’Day in the eighth. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.

He also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high.

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900.

Hamilton is the sixth AL slugger to perform the feat. The last player to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.

Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent after this season, leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.

He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players. Hamilton has homered in five of his last six at-bats, counting his final trip to the plate Monday night.

Andrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-3 win in the series opener, Texas has won two straight for the first time since April 24-25 and are 20-10, their best-ever record after 30 games.

Dating back to last season, Texas has won seven in a row over Baltimore by a combined 70-18 score.

Rangers starter Neftali Feliz (2-1) gave up one run on four hits and had a career-high eight strikeouts. Converted to starter after notching 72 saves over the previous two seasons, Feliz had a 2-0 lead to protect before throwing his first pitch and maintained the advantage — just like when he was closer.

The Orioles entered the series with the best record in the majors after a 5-1 trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but they have looked more like a team with 14 straight losing seasons in these two games against the two-time defending AL champions.

Arrieta (2-3) allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He yielded a career-high three homers, matching the total he surrendered in his first six starts this season.

J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit consecutive solo homers for Baltimore in the eighth, long after the outcome had been decided.

The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Elvis Andrus drew a one-out walk and Hamilton hit Arrieta’s next pitch over the center-field wall.

It was more of the same in the third, and then some. After Andrus reached on a chopper off the plate, Hamilton lined an opposite-field drive into the left-field seats. Beltre followed with this sixth home run, the fourth time in 30 games that Texas has homered in successive at-bats.

Andrus singled in the seventh before Hamilton sent a drive over the center-field wall against Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game.

After that, the only suspense was whether Hamilton would get another at-bat. He did, and made it count.

NOTES: Andrus has reached base in 26 straight games. He is 16 for 33 on the road trip. … Despite Baltimore’s surprising start, the game drew a meager crowd of 11,263. … Baltimore’s Chris Davis singled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-14 skid

Rangers 3, Tigers 2: Alberto Gonzalez’s squeeze bunt turned into an RBI single in the 11th inning at Detroit when umpires missed a call, and Texas went on to beat the Tigers yesterday.

Gonzalez admitted after the game the ball hit him around the knee. Rather than a foul ball, the play stood.

Plate umpire Tim Welke saw a replay afterward and said the ball did, in fact hit, Gonzalez, but his crew hadn’t seen that initially.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Gonzalez bunted back to pitcher Thad Weber (0-1), who had no play at the plate on runner Nelson Cruz. Weber froze with the ball, and first baseman Miguel Cabrera struggled to get back to the bag in time. Everybody was safe, and Texas took the lead.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland argued that it should’ve been a foul ball.

Robbie Ross (3-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for Texas, and Joe Nathan finished for his fourth save. Josh Hamilton homered for the Rangers.

Blue Jays 5, Royals 3: Brett Lawrie stole home and drove in two runs at Kansas City as Toronto sent the Royals to their 10th straight loss.

This is the Royals’ longest losing streak since dropping 12 in a row in May 2008.

Ricky Romero (3-0), who is 11-2 in 17 starts since July 21, won his third consecutive start.

Francisco Cordero gave up a run in the ninth, but posted his first save in his first opportunity. Cordero, who will serve as Toronto’s closer with Sergio Santos going on the disabled list, collected his 328th career save.

The Blue Jays scored four runs in the fifth to chase Danny Duffy (1-2).

Rays 5, Twins 2: Desmond Jennings homered and had one of the Rays’ team record four sacrifice flys as Tampa Bay beat visiting Minnesota.

Jennings had a sacrifice fly during a two-run third and made it 5-0 in the fifth with a two-run homer off Francisco Liriano (0-3).

Liriano went five innings, allowing five runs. The left-hander has given up 22 runs, 25 hits and 13 walks over 16-1/3 innings this season.

Minnesota’s Josh Willingham went 0 for 2, ending his season-opening 15-game hitting streak, which tied Kirby Puckett’s team record set in 1994.

Tampa Bay’s Jeff Niemann (1-2) didn’t allow a hit until Clete Thomas’ two-out single in the fifth.

Orioles 3, Angels 2: Nick Markakis hit a two-run single in the eighth inning and a run-scoring single in the 10th, leading visiting Baltimore over Los Angeles.

LaTroy Hawkins (0-1) came on in the 10th and issued a leadoff walk to No. 9 hitter Robert Andino, who advanced on a sacrifice by Endy Chavez and a groundout by J.J. Hardy. Markakis grounded a hard single up the middle that deflected off the glove of second baseman Howie Kendrick and into center field.

Pedro Strop (2-1) pitched two innings for the win despite allowing a tying solo homer in the eighth by Kendrick. Jim Johnson got three outs for his seventh save.

Albert Pujols was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and is homerless in his 16 games and 65 at-bats, the longest drought from the start of a season in his 12-year career.

White S0x 7, Mariners 4: Alex Rios got three hits and drove in three runs as visiting Chicago completed a series sweep of Seattle.

A day after Phil Humber pitched a perfect game for the White Sox, John Danks (2-2) went six innings for the win.

Hector Santiago pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season, closing out Chicago’s 19th victory in its last 22 games against the Mariners.

Rios hit a tying, two-run triple in the sixth off Kevin Millwood (0-1) and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kosuke Fukudome to put the White Sox ahead for good.

Athletics 5, Indians 1: Seth Smith hit a two-run homer, helping Tyson Ross get his first win in nearly a year as Oakland avoided a series sweep with a victory over visiting Cleveland.

Cliff Pennington had two hits and drove in two runs for the A’s, who ended a two-game slide and have won four of six. Kurt Suzuki also drove in a run.

Ross (1-0) allowed a run and four hits in 6-2/3 innings. He walked five and struck out four while getting his first victory since last May 14 against the Chicago White Sox.

Justin Masterson (0-2) gave up four runs on six hits over five innings and has allowed 17 runs over his last 13-2/3 innings.

Astros 12, Los Angeles 0: Jordan Schafer hit his first career grand slam on a shot that bounced off the glove of Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier. Wandy Rodriguez pitched three-hit ball through seven innings and Houston romped past Los Angeles.

The Astros avoided a sweep and handed the Dodgers their most-lopsided shutout since a 13-0 loss to the Angels in June 2004.

Rodriguez (1-2) struck out six and walked three to get his first win of the season and lower his ERA to 1.42.

Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer in the first. Schafer’s slam came an inning later and was just the second career grand slam Chad Billingsley (2-1) has allowed in his seven-year career.

Diamondbacks 6, Braves 4: Gerardo Parra hit his first career grand slam to cap a five-run second inning and Arizona beat visiting Atlanta, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Braves had won five in a row.

Ian Kennedy (3-0) posted his seventh straight win dating to last August. J.J. Putz recorded his fifth save despite allowing a one-out home run to Juan Francisco.

Randall Delgado (2-1) retired the first two Arizona batters in the second. Jason Kubel then singled, Cody Ransom doubled and John McDonald was intentionally walked to load the bases. Delgado walked Kennedy on four pitches before Parra hit a drive into the pool area beyond the right-center field fence for a 5-1 lead.

Cardinals 5, Pirates 1: Kyle Lohse scattered six hits while pitching into the eighth inning to lead visiting St. Louis past Pittsburgh.

David Freese had a two-run single for the Cardinals and Rafael Furcal had three hits to support Lohse (3-0).

The veteran right-hander struck out five without issuing a walk, though his ERA actually ticked up from 0.89 to 0.99.

Erik Bedard (0-4) gave up three runs on six hits, walking four and striking out seven in seven innings but was again undone by a lack of support. The Pirates have scored three runs combined in Bedard’s four starts.

Rockies 4, Brewers 1: Michael Cuddyer lined a two-run double in the eighth and Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven strong innings, leading visiting Colorado over Milwaukee.

The win put a damper on the celebration of Ryan Braun’s NL MVP and Silver Slugger awards. The Brewers slugger received his trophies in a pregame ceremony.

Guthrie (2-1) got the better of Yovani Gallardo in a matchup of opening-day starters, surrendering one run and three hits in seven innings. Rafael Betancourt pitched the ninth for his fifth straight save to open the season.

Francisco Rodriguez (0-2) took the loss. The closer-turned-setup-man who accepted an arbitration offer of $8 million in the offseason rather than leave as a free agent, has struggled in 2012. The two runs he allowed yesterday pushed his ERA to 6.75.

Reds 4, Cubs 3: Johnny Cueto threw 6-1/3 strong innings to lead Cincinnati past Chicago at Wrigley Field.

Cueto (2-0) allowed one earned run, scattering five hits. He struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.78.

Two runners were on base with one out when Cueto exited in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Aroldis Chapman struck out Ian Stewart looking with a fastball that registered 99 mph on the stadium scoreboard.

Chapman also worked a scoreless eighth and former Cubs reliever Sean Marshall pitched the ninth, picking up his third save in three opportunities.

Rodrigo Lopez (0-1) took the loss in relief.

Padres 6, Phillies 1: Nick Hundley homered, tripled and drove in a career-high four runs, leading San Diego past visiting Philadelphia.

A day after snapping a 13-game home losing streak to the Phillies, San Diego posted its first two-game winning streak of the season.

Hundley hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, an RBI triple in the third and two-run homer in the fifth off Joe Blanton (1-3).

Anthony Bass (1-2) pitched three-hit ball for six innings and allowed an unearned run. He walked five and struck out seven in his sixth career start.

MINNEAPOLIS — Pitching, fielding, baserunning and timely hits. That all fell into place for the surging Texas Rangers this weekend.

Just like the fastball Glen Perkins left over the middle for Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton’s two-run homer in the eighth capped a three-run inning for the Rangers and set up Joe Nathan for the save against his former team in a 4-3 victory on Sunday over the Twins, their first series sweep in Minnesota since 1999.

“I’m not trying to do too much. It’s ‘do what the situation asks for,’” said Hamilton, who leads the American League with 16 hits and is tied at the top with four home runs.

Perkins (0-1) walked Ian Kinsler to start the eighth, and Elvis Andrus followed with a triple to bring the Rangers within one. Then Hamilton hit the first pitch he saw from Perkins an estimated 449 feet into the upper deck above right field.

“He’s locked in. He’s doing everything. He’s using all the fields. He’s not missing mistakes. He’s playing tremendous defense. We certainly needed that big hit he gave us today, and that’s what he’s been doing for us,” manager Ron Washington said.

Hamilton is 6 for 12 in his career with two homers and five RBIs against Perkins.

“That’s what they do when you make a mistake, and he did what he should’ve done with that,” Perkins said.

The Rangers won their fourth in a row and raised their AL-best record to 8-2. The Twins have the worst mark in the league at 2-7.

Robbie Ross (2-0) struck out three in relief of Neftali Feliz over two scoreless innings for his second win in as many days. Then Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in four tries with his new team.

“We’ve got an unbelievable team that can hit, get runs whenever it seems like they want to,” Ross said. “It’s pretty cool. It makes pitching a lot easier.”

The Twins stretched their lead to 3-1 after a triple by Denard Span — who is 10 for 18 in his last four games — and a single by Jamey Carroll. Joe Mauer walked, but Ross retired three in a row.

“We thought we had a pretty good opportunity there, but the kid made some pitches and got us out,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Then in the eighth, Span started with a single but Carroll popped his bunt attempt up and Mauer grounded into a double play.