Arlington, Texas ? Kenny Rogers didn’t have to be at his sharpest to win his sixth straight start for the Texas Rangers, who hit three home runs in an 8-1 victory Thursday night to complete a sweep of Kansas City.

Rogers (6-2) gave up a run in the first and allowed six base-runners through the fourth, even with a three-up, three-down inning in that stretch. But the 40-year-old left-hander held the Royals to that single run over seven innings, lowering his AL-leading earned-run average to 1.69.

Richard Hidalgo homered for the fifth time in five games, and Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira also homered in Texas’ sixth straight victory.

The Rangers have consecutive three-game sweeps at home over last-place teams Houston and the Royals, who pitched two winless starters in Texas. They end the homestand this weekend against the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, facing Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle during the weekend games.

Rogers threw 64 of his 98 pitches for strikes with just one strikeout. He allowed five hits, only one of them for extra bases, with two walks and a hit batsman.

Before giving up a run in his last start against the Astros, Rogers had pitched 31 consecutive scoreless during four games. The only complete game in that stretch was May 14 at Minnesota, and his last loss was 3-2 on April 21 at Tampa Bay.

Jose Lima (0-4) allowed eight runs, leaving the game after Teixeira’s 11th homer led off the fifth to make it 8-1. Lima is winless in 13 starts since Sept. 14 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, including all 11 of his starts for the Royals.

Hidalgo put the Rangers ahead with his RBI single in the second that made it 2-1. Two innings later, he hit his 10th homer – fourth in the three-game series – for a 7-1 lead.

Soriano, mired in a 6-for-38 slump over 10 games, hit a three-run homer with two outs in the third. It was his 12th of the season and his first since May 14.

The Royals scored in the first when David DeJesus walked and scored on a sacrifice fly by Emil Brown.

It was only the second time during their winning streak the Rangers trailed. Texas was behind only after Rogers’ scoreless streak ended in the second inning Friday night against Houston, but the Rangers tied that game in the bottom half of the inning.

Kansas City had runners at first and second in the third, and they were running when Mike Sweeney hit a sinking liner to left. Kevin Mench made the shoestring-level catch and then doubled up Angel Berroa to end the inning.

Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock’s error in the seventh inning ended his streak of games without an error at 53, matching Buddy Bell’s team record.

Blalock had fielded 149 straight chances without an error since Sept. 25, with four in this game until Eli Marrero’s grounder hit off his glove and rolled into left field to start the seventh. On the next pitch, Blalock cleanly fielded Alberto Castillo’s grounder to start a double play.

Bell, who won five straight AL Gold Gloves from 1979-84, had 170 chances without an error in his 53-game streak during the 1979 season.

Notes: Steve Stemle, whose contract was purchased by the Royals from Triple-A Omaha earlier Thursday, made his major league debut with three strikeouts over three perfect innings after replacing Lima. … Lima has allowed 15 home runs over 55 1-3 innings this season. … The Rangers and Royals, who share a spring training complex in Arizona, play seven more times this season. All of those games are in Kansas City, next week and Sept. 1-4.