Homers by Tellez and Pederson back Kelly’s pitching as Rangers blank Guardians 5-0 to sweep series

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Rowdy Tellez and Joc Pederson homered, and Merrill Kelly earned his first win with Texas by pitching seven terrific innings as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-0 on Sunday to sweep their three-game series.

Kelly (10-7) faced two batters in the eighth and struck out eight, the most in his five starts with Texas since being acquired from Arizona on July 31.

The Rangers (66-66) have won three straight for the first time since sweeping Atlanta from July 25-27. They’re back at .500 for the first time since Aug. 14.

Tellez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Wyatt Langford blooped a two-run single into shallow right field. Pederson added a solo shot in the seventh.

The Guardians (64-65) were shut out on eight singles over the final 19 innings of the series and have lost four in a row overall, dropping below .500 for the first time since July 29.

Gavin Williams (8-5) allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. Williams leads the majors this season with 72 walks.

Tellez, a left-handed hitter, homered off Williams, who leads the majors with a .146 opponents’ batting average against lefty hitters.

The Rangers have the majors’ best team ERA (3.43) while the Guardians have the majors’ lowest team batting average (.225). Cleveland has been shut out an AL-most 14 times.

Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (9-9, 4.62 ERA) faces Tampa Bay LHP Ian Seymour (1-0, 3.86) on Monday to begin a six-game homestand.

Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (10-5, 2.76 ERA) returns to the rotation Monday at home against Angels RHP José Soriano (8-9, 4.00) after missing a scheduled turn last Wednesday to manage his workload following some shoulder fatigue. Texas’ lone All-Star this season, deGrom has one win following the break and is 0-3 in his last four starts.