Ian Desmond homers twice to rally Rockies past Rangers

Friday, Jun 15, 2018 9:52 PM Updated Friday, Jun. 15, 2018 9:54 PM

Colorado trailed by five runs

Colorado Rockies’ Ian Desmond connects for a home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Matt Moore during the fifth inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

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Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) prepares to throw to first base on the ground out by Texas Rangers’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa, foreground, during the third inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Colorado Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon scores on a two-run double by Nolan Arenado against the Texas Rangers during the second inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Texas Rangers’ Joey Gallo follows through on his two-run home against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chad Bettis delivers a pitch to a Texas Rangers batter during the first inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yohander Mendez delivers a pitch to a Colorado Rockies batter during the first inning Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ian Desmond homered twice and Trevor Story had a pair of RBI hits in his first game near home as the Colorado Rockies overcame a quick five-run deficit to beat the Texas Rangers 9-5 in the opener of an interleague series Friday night.

It was Desmond’s first game in Texas since the converted shortstop was an All-Star center fielder in his only season with the Rangers in 2016.

Story grew up about 15 minutes away from the Rangers’ ballpark before he was the 45th overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Rockies out of Irving High School. The shortstop, who still lives in the area in the offseason, had an RBI single in a six-run second and added a run-scoring double in the seventh to push his NL-best total to 52 RBIs.

Texas has a seven-game losing streak, its longest of the season. The Rockies had lost five of their previous six games.

Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo each hit two-run homers in the first when the Rangers jumped out to 5-0 lead against Chad Bettis (5-1), another Texas native.

Bettis, who is from Lubbock and played at Texas Tech, pitched into the sixth without giving up another run. The right-hander struck out six and walked three.

Desmond homered to lead off a six-run second against Yohander Mendez (0-1), the lefty making his first big league start. D.J. LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon had consecutive RBI singles before Nolan Arenado snapped a career-worst 0-for-19 slump with a two-run double.

Arenado led off the ninth with his 13th homer.

Desmond’s second homer, in the fifth, was his 14th of the season for Colorado’s primary first baseman. It is his fifth career multihomer game, and the first by a Rockies player at an American League park since Blackmon at Yankee Stadium in 2016.

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Lefty Kyle Feeland (6-6), the Denver native who was 4-0 in interleague starts as a rookie last season, takes the mound for the Rockies in the first of consecutive day games to close out the interleague series. Rangers left-hander Mike Minor (4-4) is working on extended six days of rest after Texas had two off days during the week.