ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Texas Rangers scored twice in the first inning, twice in the second and one more time in the third. The light-hitting Tampa Bay Devil Rays didn't flinch.

"For some reason we felt from the start that we were going to win, that we were going to score," manager Hal McRae said after the team with the worst record in the majors rallied for a 10-6 victory Wednesday night.

"I can't explain it, but there was a lot of energy in the dugout ... more than I can remember us having when things were not going well. To a man, we felt like we were going to do something good."

Gerald Williams doubled and scored the go-ahead run when rookie Juan Moreno balked twice.

Meanwhile, Andy Sheets drove in three runs with a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly. Damion Rolls hit his first major league homer for the Devil Rays, who won for just the third time in 13 games.

"It was an encouraging night, a very encouraging night," McRae said. "We haven't come back very often ... But one game doesn't mean you got some momentum. One game doesn't mean you are out of the woods."

Williams led off the sixth with a double against Tim Crabtree (0-3). Williams moved to third on Moreno's balk and scored one out later for a 7-6 lead when the Rangers reliever was charged with another balk.

Tampa Bay added three runs in the seventh on right fielder Ruben Sierra's two-base error, Sheets' sacrifice fly and Rolls' home run off Jeff Brantley.

"I don't think I've ever seen back-to-back balks. I'm sure it happens. I've just never seen it," Texas manager Jerry Narron said, attributing the mistakes to Moreno's inexperience.

The rookie has appeared in four games since joining the Rangers on May 16.

"It was a tough spot for him to come in," Narron said. "If he's going to be here, he's going to have to pitch in tough spots."

Dan Wheeler (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three, including Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded and Texas leading by three runs in the fifth.

The Rangers built a four-run lead against Devil Rays starter Brian Rose, but it gradually slipped away from Texas rookie Aaron Myette, who is still looking for his first major league win.

Rafael Palmeiro had a pair of RBI doubles for Texas, which also got run-scoring singles from Rusty Greer and Ken Caminiti on the way to a 5-1 lead.

Andres Galarraga homered to make it 6-3 in the fifth, extending the Rangers' team-record streak of consecutive games with a home run to 16. Texas leads the majors with 72 home runs and has hit 26 during the club record streak that began on May 6.

Myette was a late replacement for Ryan Glynn, scratched from his scheduled start an hour before the game because of a stomach virus. The right-hander allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Devil Rays came back on Greg Vaughn's RBI single in the first, Fred McGriff's run-scoring single in the third and three runs in the fifth that made it 6-all.

Alex Rodriguez doubled and scored a run for the Rangers in the first. But he also struck out three times, including once with a runner at third and Texas trailing 7-6.

Game notes
Alex and Ivan Rodriguez went 1-for-8 with six strikeouts, leaving 10 men on base ... The Rangers' Gabe Kapler reached base in his eighth consecutive plate appearance when he singled in the first. The streak ended when he struck out in the second ... McGriff has 25 RBIs in his last 20 games ... Texas manager Jerry Narron will miss Friday night's game at Baltimore to attend the high school graduation of his daughter, Callie, in Goldsboro, N.C. Bench coach Bucky Dent will manage the club in his absence ... The Rangers had five double plays in the series opener Tuesday night. SS Alex Rodriguez participated in all five, tying a major league record for double plays in a game by a shortstop. It had been done 47 times previously _ 29 in the AL and 18 in the NL. Rodriguez was the first to do it since the Rangers' Nelson Norman on April 23, 1979.

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