ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Royce Clayton found a way to get on base Friday night. He just didn't spend much time there.

Clayton broke out of a 1-for-18 slump with his first two-homer game and three teammates also homered as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-5 Friday night.

"I'd been hitting the ball hard, but it was right at people," Clayton said of his first four games as the Rangers' leadoff hitter. "I hadn't been lucky. Fortunately, two carried out for me tonight."

	Jose Cruz Jr. watches one of Royce Clayton's home runs land beyond the wall in left-center.

Clayton started the night with an on-base percentage of .158 and an .059 batting average, not exactly the kind of numbers manager Johnny Oates was expecting when he moved Clayton to the top of the order at the start of spring training.

"I wanted to take some heat off my manager," Clayton said. "People were questioning how long he would stick with me. I appreciate that he's been patient with me. I want all that to be old news."

Ivan Rodriguez, Ruben Mateo and Rusty Greer also homered for Texas, averaging 8.6 runs after five games.

Texas matched the franchise record for homers at home, accomplishing the feat for the eighth time. The club record for all games is seven.

"We got contributions throughout the lineup," Oates said. "It was nice to see Royce get a couple of knocks."

Mark Clark (1-0) won for the first time since May 24, allowing four runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He missed the final 2½ months of last season because of a torn ligament in his right elbow.

Tony Batista hit his fourth homer for the Blue Jays, who lost their third in a row. Jose Cruz Jr. also homered for Toronto.

Toronto scored two runs in the first inning. Shannon Stewart hit a leadoff triple that skipped past Mateo in center field, and Stewart scored on Homer Bush's single. Bush went to third on Raul Mondesi's single and scored when Carlos Delgado grounded into a double play.

The Blue Jays stretched their lead to 4-0 in the second with the help of a Texas error. Batista led off with a homer and Darrin Fletcher singled. After Jose Cruz Jr.'s grounder forced Fletcher at second, Alex Gonzalez reached on third baseman Tom Evans' fielding error, and Cruz scored on Stewart's single.

Texas's comeback began in the third against Frank Castillo (0-1) when Frank Catalanotto singled, Evans walked and Clayton hit his first homer to make it 4-3.

The Rangers went ahead for good with a two-run fourth. Castillo walked Evans, the last batter he faced, with the bases loaded for the tying run. Gabe Kapler scored the go-ahead run when Clayton grounded into a double play.

Meanwhile, Clark settled down, allowing one runner each in the third and fourth while his team was taking the lead.

"I left a couple of pitches up in the first two innings but after that I started getting the ball down," Clark said. "I felt too strong early. I was overthrowing. But later on I got some ground balls and settled in. I knew our offense would get us back in it."

Castillo allowed five runs and four hits in three innings. He walked five and struck out one, and the walks were what bothered manager Jim Fregosi.

"You can't fall behind hitters," Fregosi said. "You have to pitch ahead. We can't walk hitters like we did. And if you leave the ball up, they're going to go out of the ballpark."

Rodriguez and Mateo hit solo homers in the fifth off Lance Painter to make it 7-4. Greer hit a two-run shot off Painter in the sixth for a 9-4 lead, and Catallano's sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 10-4. Clayton hit his second homer in the eighth, and Cruz homered off John Wetteland leading off the ninth.

Game notes
Castillo was making his first major league appearance since Sept. 26, 1998, with Detroit. His last start was Sept. 19, 1998, for the Tigers. Castillo spent last season with Nashville, Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate. ... Castillo allowed nine of the last 11 batters he faced to reach base. ... Clark hadn't appeared in a game since June 19. He struck out three and walked one. ... Catalanotto has hit safely in the four games he's played in.