Hunter became the first Ranger to pitch only as a starter and begin a season with seven wins and no losses, and Josh Hamilton hit another homer to help surging Texas beat the slumping Tigers, 8-0, last night in Detroit.

“That’s a great accomplishment because you obviously want to win every game, but a lot of it has to do with the guys behind me,’’ he said. “You saw the plays they made, and they’ve done that every time I’ve been on the mound.

“They are the reason I’m 7-0, plus Josh keeps hitting homers every time I start.’’

Hamilton hit his 23d homer, Ian Kinsler cleared the fence for the second straight day, and David Murphy had a solo shot.

The AL West-leading Rangers are 5-1 since the All-Star break and are the only team in the majors with 50 wins since April 22.

“This is a good team,’’ Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “That’s why they’re leading the division.’’

Since the Tigers’ last day atop the AL Central, they have lost a season-high seven straight.

Angels 10, Yankees 2 — Hideki Matsui, Maicer Izturis, and Mike Napoli hit two-run homers to back a crisp effort from spot starter Sean O’Sullivan, and Los Angeles won in New York.

O’Sullivan (1-0) was starting in place of Scott Kazmir, who was put on the disabled list Sunday because of shoulder fatigue. Called up from Triple A Salt Lake yesterday, the righthander retired 12 in a row after giving up two runs in the first inning.

Braves 4, Padres 1 — Matt Diaz homered in his third straight game, Jair Jurrjens gave up only one run in seven innings, and host Atlanta beat San Diego in a matchup of first-place teams.

Rockies 10, Marlins 0 — Melvin Mora drove in five runs, Jeff Francis pitched seven crisp innings, and Colorado beat Florida in Miami.

Orioles 11, Rays 10 — Julio Lugo singled in the winning run in the 13th inning, and host Baltimore beat Tampa Bay in a wild game that featured seven solo home runs.

Giants 7, Dodgers 5 — Andres Torres hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning, rallying visiting San Francisco to victory over slumping Los Angeles.

Diamondbacks 3, Mets 2 — Barry Enright pitched eight effective innings and host Arizona gave interim manager Kirk Gibson his first winning streak, holding on to beat wobbling New York.

Indians 4, Twins 3 — Travis Hafner had two hits and the go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning, and Justin Masterson (3 runs, 7 hits in 6 1/3 innings) became the latest Cleveland player to put his first-half struggles behind him for the streaking Indians, who are 6-0 since the All-Star break.

White Sox 4, Mariners 0 — John Danks combined with two relievers on a two-hitter and Alexei Ramirez homered, helping visiting Chicago beat Seattle.

Pirates 11, Brewers 9 — Pedro Alvarez hit a grand slam in Pittsburgh’s nine-run first and a solo drive in the second for his first career multihomer game, helping the host Pirates beat Milwaukee.

Reds 8, Nationals 7 — Mike Leake pitched five solid innings before a 2-hour-40-minute delay, and host Cincinnati blew most of a seven-run lead after the break before holding on to beat Washington.

Cardinals 7, Phillies 1 — Chris Carpenter worked eight dominant innings and host St. Louis got home runs from Randy Winn and Matt Holliday, to beat slumping Philadelphia for its seventh straight win.

Blue Jays 13, Royals 1 — Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 26th home run and drove in five runs to back Jesse Litsch, as Toronto won in Kansas City.

Cubs 14, Astros 7 — Aramis Ramirez hit three home runs and drove in seven runs to help host Chicago rally to beat Houston hours after Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced he will retire at the end of the season.