ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cole Hamels was masterful on the mound for the AL-best Texas Rangers, and Carlos Gomez provided a big blast in his debut with a fresh start.Hamels allowed only two singles over eight innings for his 14th victory and Gomez hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 9-0 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series matching division leaders.You can always tell the passion he has in the game. ... Its nice to be able to have him on this side because hes a tremendous asset, Hamels said of Gomez. Its going to be dramatic in our lineup.Hamels (14-4) struck out eight without a walk and retired 19 straight batters after Francisco Lindors solid two-out single to left in the first. The only other baserunner for the Indians against the lefty was Carlos Santana after a leadoff hit in the eighth, though he was stranded at second after advancing on a passed ball.Hes got the whole thing. Hes got a fastball, he can cut it, a great changeup, Indians manager Terry Francona said. He had everything working tonight, and you give him a lead, he knows what to do with it.Gomez hit a drive deep into the seats in left field for a 3-0 lead in the second. Adrian Beltre added his own three-run homer in the fifth to make it 8-0 and chase Josh Tomlin (11-8).The first home run of my career that I feel that I want to cry, Gomez said.Gomez made his Rangers debut five days after signing a minor league deal with the team and playing three games at Triple-A Round Rock. The 30-year-old two-time All-Star outfielder hit .210 with five homers in 85 games this season with the Houston Astros before being designated for assignment and then last week given his unconditional release.Hes hungry, he wants to prove to the baseball world that hes still a very relevant player in this game, kind of a perfect storm for a guy that got a little discombobulated, manager Jeff Banister said. But an instant impact. He can do this type of stuff.Rougned Odor also homered for the Rangers (75-53), who matched their largest winning margin of the season.The AL Central-leading Indians (72-54) were shut out for the fourth time this season, and that came after being held to exactly one run in each of their three games at Oakland earlier this week.Tomlin lost his fifth consecutive start in August and has a 10.80 ERA in those games. This was the fourth time in that stretch the right-handed Texas native didnt make it out of the fifth, allowing eight runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.Hamels improved to 21-5 in his 38 starts since the Rangers acquired him last season when he was coming off a no-hitter in his last start for the Philadelphia Phillies. It was the longest scoreless outing for a Texas starter this season.You have to stick to your game plan, but at the same time you have to have some sort of surprise just so they cant sit on certain pitches, Hamels said. Thats kind of been the main focus this whole year, is really be able to execute all four or five pitches I throw, both sides of the zone, not really stray away or be afraid to try something new. Thats what we were able to do.WINNING AGAINST WINNERSThe Rangers are an MLB-best 52-26 against teams currently with a .500 record or better. They are 23-27 against sub-.500 teams.LOT LESS STRAINIn his last home start Aug. 13, Hamels had allowed a career-high 14 hits plus three walks. He still allowed only two runs in a 2-0 loss to Detroit.SHORT HOPSTony Barnette pitched the ninth to wrap up the third shutout this season for the Rangers. ... Texas had eight hits, one each by eight players. The only Texas starter without a hit was Beltran, who is in an 0-for-28 slide after going hitless in four at-bats.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Instead of activating reliever Tommy Hunter from the DL next week as planned, the Indians released the right-hander who has been out since the All-Star break with a back issue.Rangers: RHP Colby Lewis (right lat strain) said he was sore in all the right places after throwing 44 pitches in his first rehab start Wednesday. He will make another rehab start Monday and hopes to return to the Rangers rotation Sept. 3.UP NEXTIndians: All-Star RHP Corey Kluber (13-8), the 2014 AL Cy Young winner, is 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA his last eight starts.Rangers: LHP Martin Perez (8-9) is 7-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 13 home starts this season. Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. 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The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. LOGAN, Utah -- Shane Rector scored 16 points and Utah State cruised to an 84-51 win over NAIA University of Great Falls Tuesday night.The Aggies pulled away steadily in the first half and doubled-up the Argonauts at intermission, 42-21.Utah State had 11 players figure into the scoring. Norbert Janicek and Jalen Moore scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Aggies shot a crisp 31 of 51 from the field (60.8 percent) and knocked down 6 of 18 shots from beyond thee arc.ddddddddddddUtah State (4-4) dominated on the boards, outrebounding Great Falls 41-29 en route to its third home-court win in four games.Tymarieh Dixon scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Argonauts. Andre Slavik added 10 points.Great Falls was 19 of 61 from the field (31.1 percent) and hit just 3 of 27 shots from distance. ' ' '