Rangers Top Twins
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MINNEAPOLIS — For years, the old saying “Everything is bigger in Texas” fit well with the baseball team from Arlington’s style of play.
But the past two days at Target Field, the Texas Rangers proved they can win playing small-ball, too.
A double and two sacrifices in the top of the eighth inning provided the edge the Rangers needed Thursday in a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Texas won three of the four games in the series and are now 6-2 on the first two legs of their season-long, 11-game road trip that concludes this weekend with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “I just want us to stay consistent and keep getting better.”
With the score tied at 4 through seven innings, Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin, like he did Wednesday in a 1-0 Texas win, started the rally with a leadoff hit.
This time, it was a double off the wall in right field. He advanced to third on a
sacrifice bunt by catcher Robinson Chirinos and slid in just ahead of a throw from shallow right-center field.
“He has to make a perfect throw to throw me out in that situation. It’s late in the game and we need that run,” Martin said. “It’s a tight game, eighth inning, that situation you have to (tag up).”
Rangers right-hander Alexi Ogando, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, picked up the victory to improve to 2-2.
Twins right-hander Casey Fien, who entered the game at the start of the eighth, took the loss, dropping to 3-2 this season.
Both starters labored through the early innings, with Samuel Deduno loading the bases with nobody out in the second. He coaxed a popout to second, got a strikeout and worked Rangers designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo to a two-strike count before Choo dumped a double down the left field line to clear the bases.
“(Deduno) made a good pitch. He just flipped it down the left-field line,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That was a big three runs.”
Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out in their half of the inning against Texas right-hander Nick Martinez but grounded back to the pitcher and lined into a 3-6 double play to end the threat.
“We had chances, plenty of people out there, just couldn’t get a hit,” Gardenhire said.
Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said, “We’re getting guys on, we just can’t get them in. That’s the main focus.”
The Twins did get on the board in the next inning with RBI singles from third baseman Trevor Plouffe and designated hitter Josh Willingham to make it 3-2.
Willingham gave the Twins the lead in the fifth, hitting a long two-run homer into the second deck above the bullpens in left field. The 436-foot shot was his first home run of the season after he missed 41 games with a fractured wrist.
Texas got even in the next half inning as Martin doubled and was driven in by Chirinos on a single. The hit ended Deduno’s day. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits, a walk and four earned runs. Deduno also struck out two and got a no-decision.
Martinez, who went 5 2/3 innings, also got a no decision, allowing four runs, nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
“It was a learning experience for him today to go out there and keep his team in it when he doesn’t have his best stuff,” Washington said.
Texas closer Joakim Soria got the final two outs in the ninth, working around a single by Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, to close out his 10th save.
