Adrian Sampson posted career-highs of seven innings pitched and 11 strikeouts as the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Sunday at Arlington, Texas. The Rangers took three out of four in the series, and the Royals finished their road trip with a 1-6 record.

Sampson (4-3) scattered eight hits and did not walk a batter. He lost his first three decisions this season but has won his last four.

Brad Keller (3-7) took the loss for Kansas City. He allowed just three runs on nine hits in seven innings. He struck out six and didn't walk a batter. He came into the game with just a 58 percent strike rate, lowest in the major leagues, but 75 of his 100 pitches were strikes on Sunday.

Ronald Guzman drove in Hunter Pence with a single for the Rangers' first run in the second inning. Guzman, who came into the game hitting just .196, finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

The Royals threatened in the fifth inning. They got three straight singles to start the inning, including bunt singles by Terrance Gore and Billy Hamilton. But Sampson got Whit Merrifield to line out to third and Adalberto Mondesi to strike out swinging before Alex Gordon took at a called third strike.

The Rangers did not waste their chance in the bottom of the fifth. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single and Danny Santana followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. After Elvis Andrus popped out, Choo scored on a wild pitch and Santana scored on a single by Nomar Mazara.

The Royals got a run on a home run by Jorge Soler leading off the sixth. They loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth but couldn't score when Shelby Miller got Cam Gallagher to fly to center. The Royals were just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position for the game and finished 6-for-34 in the series.

The Rangers tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the ninth while finishing their fifth win in the past six games.

--Field Level Media