Field Level Media
Aug 25, 2023
Carlos Correa, Edouard Julien and Max Kepler homered and Sonny Gray allowed one run over seven innings as the Minnesota Twins handed the Texas Rangers their eighth consecutive loss, 12-2 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
The result dropped the Rangers into a tie for first place in the American League West with the Seattle Mariners, who beat the Kansas City Royals 7-5 later Friday night.
Minnesota's Matt Wallner had a bases-clearing triple and a double while scoring three times in the rout. Ryan Jeffers and Donovan Solano each had two hits and two RBIs and Royce Lewis singled, walked twice and scored two runs for the Twins.
Gray (7-6) allowed six hits and struck out four. He didn't walk a batter but hit Mitch Garver, who had homered earlier, in the hip with a pitch in the fourth. Garver took a step toward the mound before being ushered toward first by plate umpire Carlos Torres as both benches emptied briefly.
No players were ejected, though two batters earlier Twins center fielder Joey Gallo and manager Rocco Baldelli were both tossed for arguing a called third strike that ended the previous inning.
Leody Taveras had two doubles while Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe each had two hits for Texas. Dane Dunning (9-6) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits and six walks in four innings. He struck out six.
Minnesota jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning by taking advantage of Dunning's wildness. Four batters walked in the inning, setting the stage for a bases-loaded triple by Wallner into the right field corner that gave the Twins a 3-0 lead. Jeffers then singled in Wallner to make it 4-0.
Texas cut it to 4-1 in the second when Garver led off with his 11th home run just over the glove of Wallner at the left field wall.
The Twins broke the game open with a six-run seventh that featured a leadoff homer by Correa, RBI singles by Jeffers and Solano and a 435-foot, three-run homer by Julien into the second deck in right-center.
The Rangers cut it to 10-2 in the eighth on an RBI single by Lowe. The Twins answered with two runs in the bottom half against catcher Austin Hedges, including Kepler's 21st homer of the season to lead off the inning and another RBI hit by Solano.
--Field Level Media