CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Texas Rangers erupted for four runs in the first inning and rode a strong start from Jack Leiter to a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at Progressive Field, snapping a two-game skid and ensuring they would finish the season with a winning record.

In a game that defied pregame projections which heavily favored the home team, the Rangers’ offense struck immediately against Guardians starter Slade Cecconi. Joc Pederson worked a leadoff walk and Cody Freeman followed with a single. After a strikeout, Rowdy Tellez launched a double to center field, scoring Pederson. Two batters later, with two outs, Alejandro Osuna delivered the decisive blow, crushing a three-run home run to right-center field to stake Texas to a commanding 4-0 lead before many of the 36,275 in attendance had settled into their seats.

Cleveland responded swiftly in the bottom half of the inning against Leiter. After a popout and a single by George Valera, Kyle Manzardo connected for a two-run homer to center field, cutting the deficit in half and momentarily energizing the crowd. Leiter, however, limited the damage by striking out Bo Naylor to end the frame.

From that point, the game evolved into a pitchers’ duel. Cecconi settled in after his rocky first inning, ultimately completing four frames while allowing the four runs on five hits, striking out three and walking one. He was tagged with the loss, his record falling to 7-7.

Leiter, meanwhile, found a rhythm after the Manzardo homer. The right-hander effectively silenced the Guardians’ bats over the next five innings, scattering five hits total while striking out five and walking one across six strong innings of work. He earned the win, improving his season record to an even 10-10.

The Texas bullpen took over and preserved the 4-2 lead until the Rangers’ offense provided crucial insurance in the seventh inning. Facing reliever Jakob Junis, Billy McKinney and Michael Helman singled to put two runners on. Joc Pederson then loaded the bases with another single. Cody Freeman, who finished the night with three hits, delivered the key hit, a two-run single to right field that scored McKinney and Helman. After a strikeout, Jake Burger tacked on another run with a single to center, plating Pederson and extending the lead to 7-2.

Cleveland’s offense, outside of Manzardo’s first-inning blast, was largely muted. Key contributors José Ramírez and Daniel Schneemann combined to go 0 for 7. The Guardians mounted a minor threat in the ninth inning against Texas reliever Cole Winn, as Ramírez walked and later scored on a two-out RBI single by Gabriel Arias. But Winn induced a game-ending strikeout from Schneemann to seal the victory for the visitors.

The Guardians received a standout relief performance from Erik Sabrowski, who recorded four strikeouts in 1 1/3 perfect innings of work. Zak Kent also provided 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for Cleveland.

The loss dropped the Guardians’ record to 86-74, while the Rangers improved to 81-79, guaranteeing they will finish above .500. The result was an upset according to Interstat’s metrics, which had projected a 7-2 Cleveland victory and gave the Guardians a 54.3 percent probability to win. The combined 10 runs scored went over the pregame over/under line of 8.

The two teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.