Hamilton, Cruz return to lead Rangers to victory

Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz both homered in their return to the Texas Rangers lineup and Alexi Ogando (5-0) threw a five-hitter for his first career shutout, a 4-0 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox last night.

Both were activated from the disabled list and in the Rangers' lineup together for the first time since April 12, when Hamilton broke a bone in his upper right arm trying to score with a headfirst slide in Detroit.

Hamilton, the designated hitter, wasted no time getting back in the swing of things. He hit his first home run of the season off starter John Danks (0-7) in the first inning.

Hamilton finished with two hits and two runs scored.

"It was good to get it out of the way, good to get that nervousness over," Hamilton said.

Cruz, playing leftfield, hadn't played for the Rangers since coming out early from a game May 3 at Seattle with a strained right quadriceps.

He belted a two-run homer in the sixth to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.

"An exciting moment for us to be back," Cruz said.

Their return was a boost for the AL West-leading Rangers, who had lost three of their past four games, including two to the Phillies over the weekend.

Hamilton and Cruz wrapped up their minor league rehab assignments with three games last weekend at Triple A Round Rock after starting last week at Double A Frisco.

Cruz was 7-for-22 overall in six rehab games with home runs in each of his three games for Round Rock. Hamilton homered twice in his five minor league games as the DH.

The Rangers were 9-1 before Hamilton got hurt. They went 15-22 without him.

Hamilton returned on the night of a promotional giveaway recognizing his 2010 MVP season.

"Yeah, just in time for Hamilton figurine night," he said. "It looked kind of terrible - they keep hiding my face."

The figurines feature Hamilton making a catch with his arm extended in front of him.

In other games:

* At New York, J.P. Arencibia had four RBI, including a three-run double in the sixth inning, to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 win over the Yankees.

* At Detroit, Victor Martinez hit a two-run double and Jhonny Peralta had a two-run single in the eighth inning, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

* At Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera's two-out RBI double in the eighth inning rallied the Indians to a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox, who lost second baseman Dustin Pedroia with a leg injury.

Pedroia hurt his left leg running the bases in the eighth inning.

* At Minneapolis, Luis Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lead the Seattle Mariners to an 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins' Jim Thome, who had missed 19 games with a left oblique strain, had two home runs and four RBI.

* At Anaheim, Calif., Bobby Abreu knocked in a run and scored on an eighth-inning double by Torii Hunter to help lead the Angels to a 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.

* Cleveland outfielder Grady Sizemore did agility drills and took batting practice without any problems, and is on schedule to come off the 15-day disabled list later this week. Sizemore has been out since last week with a bruised right kneecap, which he injured sliding into second base on May 10. He's eligible to come off the DL on Thursday.

* Boston righthanders Bobby Jenks and John Lackey, both on the disabled list with injuries, could be back soon, according to manager Terry Francona. Jenks, who has been out since May 5 with a right biceps strain, threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session and plans to throw again tomorrow. Lackey, who out since May 16 with a right elbow strain, plans to have a bullpen session today.