Gonzalez Outmuscled in His Return to Texas

Two of the players Texas got for Juan Gonzalez stole a bit of the two-time most valuable player’s thunder in his return to Arlington.

Gabe Kapler and Bill Haselman, acquired by Texas in the Gonzalez trade last November, combined for two homers and four RBIs Thursday night as the Rangers overcame a three-run homer by their former star to beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3.

“I was pretty nervous before the game and I haven’t felt like that in a while,” said Kapler, who homered in his fourth straight game. “Once the game got going, it was a lot less nerve-racking. I still have a lot of friends over there. It was a good win.”

Gonzalez homered in the fourth off Ryan Glynn (2-1) for a 3-0 lead. He was one for three with an intentional walk.

Texas tied the score in the bottom of the fourth against Steve Sparks (0-2). David Segui doubled, Kapler homered for the fifth time in his last nine games, and Haselman homered with two out, his first since July 4, 1999.

Kapler doubled leading off the sixth, took third on a groundout and scored on Haselman’s single for a 4-3 lead.

“It’s always nice to do well against your old team,” Haselman said.

Rafael Palmeiro added a three-run homer in the seventh off C.J. Nitkowski, his 27th of the season and 388th of his career. He is 36th on the all-time home run list, one behind Johnny Bench.

Gonzalez refused to speak with reporters, both before and after the game.