Arlington, Texas ? The Texas Rangers thought it was about time they beat the Kansas City Royals.

They had lost their last six meetings with Kansas City this season by a combined score of 53-14, and dropped the last nine matchups overall.

But Mark Teixeira homered twice and Colby Lewis pitched seven solid innings as the Rangers finally beat the Royals, 7-3, on a rainy Monday.

“It was long overdue,” said Teixeira, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. “It was very important to us. Nobody wants to get swept or lose nine in a row to the same team.”

Teixeira and Hank Blalock homered on consecutive pitches in the second inning against Darrell May (8-7), and Teixeira added another solo shot in the fourth.

Teixeira nearly had another homer in the sixth, but his drive hit high off the wall in left-center for an RBI double that stretched the Rangers’ lead to 4-2. He leads major league rookies with 22 homers.

Ken Harvey homered twice for the Royals, who fell two games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Less than a week ago, Teixeira’s batting average dipped to .244. But in the last five games, he’s 12-for-21 to raise his average to .260.

“You always have more energy when you go 3-for-4 and win like we did today,” Teixeira said. “I’ve felt physically OK. Mentally is where you get worn down. A few games like this can really raise your confidence.”

Texas' Mark Teixeira follows the flight of his second home run of the game against Kansas City. Teixeira had two home runs and a double in the Rangers' 7-3 victory over the Royals Monday in Arlington, Texas.

Lewis (7-9) retired his first 10 batters before Joe Randa’s single in the fourth. He allowed three runs and four hits, struck out three and didn’t issue a walk. Lewis rebounded from a rough start at Kansas City last week, when he allowed seven runs in just 11/3 innings.

Lewis registered 14 of 21 outs on groundballs and consistently got ahead of hitters.

“I needed this for myself,” Lewis said. “I needed to throw well after a short outing and make the point that I’m a winner and can bounce back.”

May, who threw a five-hit shutout against Texas last Wednesday, allowed four runs and four hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.

The game began in a steady rain that became lighter in the early innings before stopping in the seventh. A downpour in the Kansas City area Sunday washed out the second game of a doubleheader against Anaheim.

“We aren’t pressing, we seem more tired,” Royals manager Tony Pena said. “The ballclub seems a little flat right now. I’d have to say the rain is one of the reasons. We’ve spent a lot of time at the ballpark. We just have to stay focused.”

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Teixeira homered with nobody on in the second, and Blalock followed with his 25th. Teixeira’s solo blast in the fourth made it 3-0.

Kansas City came back in the fifth when Raul Ibanez singled and Harvey followed with a two-run homer to narrow the deficit to 3-2.

“The first thing I said when I crossed the plate was, ‘Finally,”‘ said Harvey, whose last homer was on July 5. “It’s about time. It’s a relief to finally get to double digits.”

Teixeira’s RBI double in the sixth made it 4-2, and the Rangers padded their lead with a three-run seventh. Michael Young had a sacrifice fly, Alex Rodriguez added an RBI single, and Shane Spencer drove in the third run with a bases-loaded walk off Nate Field.

Harvey was the last batter Lewis faced, leading off the eighth with his 11th homer to narrow the deficit to 7-3.

Notes: Teixeira is the sixth switch-hitting rookie in major league history with at least 20 homers. Carlos Beltran was the last with 22 for Kansas City in 1999. Eddie Murray is the leader in that category, with 27 for Baltimore in 1977. … Teixeira had his second multihomer game. … The Rangers had back-to-back homers for the 11th time this season. … Randa went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 14 games. … Texas’ Todd Greene walked for only the second time this season, and first since April 13.