Minnesota @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2011 ) Minnesota 6, Texas 20

THE STORY: What will the Texas Rangers do for an encore? After being held to four hits in a shutout loss to Toronto on Sunday, the Rangers took out their frustrations on the Minnesota Twins in a big way. Texas set major league season highs of 20 runs and 27 hits Monday en route to its 11th consecutive series-opening victory. Both teams played shoddy defense, combining for seven errors. Minnesota has lost seven of its last 10 road games.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southwest (Texas)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Carl Pavano (6-7, 4.24 ERA) vs. Rangers LH C.J. Wilson (10-4, 2.94 ERA).

Pavano is looking to rebound from a loss to Detroit on Thursday in which he allowed five runs over six innings, marking just the second time in 12 starts he failed to last at least seven frames. The 35-year old is 3-5 with a 5.07 ERA in 11 road outings as opponents have posted a .296 average against him. Ian Kinsler is 6-for-12 with two home runs and six RBIs vs. Pavano, who is 2-3 in six career meetings with Texas.

Wilson had his six-game winning streak snapped at Los Angeles on Thursday despite yielding just an unearned run and two hits in his second complete game of the year. Since losing at Philadelphia on May 20, the 30-year old is 6-1 with a 2.52 ERA over 11 starts. Wilson, who defeated the Twins at Target Field on June 10, has held Joe Mauer to one hit in 19 career at-bats.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (59-44): Texas scored at least three runs in each of the first five innings on Monday, becoming the third team since 1900 to accomplish the feat. The 27 hits fell two shy of the club record set at Baltimore on Aug. 22, 2007. The Rangers have won 10 of their last 11 home games and 15 of 18 overall. While each of the other eight players in the starting lineup had at least two hits, 3B Chris Davis went 0-for-6. He and Mike Napoli, who had four hits and scored three runs, were the only two without an RBI.

ABOUT THE TWINS (47-55): 1B-OF Michael Cuddyer became the first Twins position player to pitch in a game since 1B John Moses in 1990. Cuddyer yielded two hits and a walk in the eighth inning but escaped unscathed. A game-time temperature of 102 degrees and Texas' blazing bats combined to spell doom for RHP Nick Blackburn, who surrendered nine runs in 2 2/3 innings. Blackburn had yielded just one earned run over 13 innings in his previous two starts. Mauer is tied with Tony Oliva for eighth on the franchise list with 448 career walks. He is two behind Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett for seventh.

FINAL PITCH: "Obviously, the circumstances for me getting out there aren't what you want, but I was excited. It was fun out there. I got to work through some trouble. I was just surprised I threw some strikes." -- Cuddyer on his first pitching performance since high school.