Carlos Correa and Max Kepler each had RBI singles and Ryan Jeffers added a sacrifice fly in a three-run 10th inning as the Minnesota Twins rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-7 on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
Donovan Solano went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs and Michael A. Taylor had a two-run double to highlight a five-run fourth inning for Minnesota (71-65), which maintained its American League Central lead at five games over second-place Cleveland. Correa and Kepler each had two hits and Jeffers added two RBIs.
Brent Headrick (3-0), one of nine Twins pitchers, picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Jhoan Duran gave up a two-out RBI single to Jonah Heim in the bottom of the 10th, but he picked up his 24th save striking out Josh H. Smith with runners at first and second to end the game.
Adolis Garcia and Sam Huff both homered for Texas (75-60), which lost its third straight game. Grossman doubled and had three hits, a run and an RBI, and Leody Taveras also had two hits, an RBI and two steals for the Rangers, who fell to 2-8 in extra-inning games.
Aroldis Chapman (5-4) took the loss allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning.
Texas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Garcia’s 33rd home run of the season, driving in Marcus Semien, who had doubled.
The Rangers extended the lead to 4-0 in the second. Grossman led off with a double off the top of the fence in left-center and scored one out later on Huff’s towering 430-foot homer down the left field line.
Minnesota cut the lead to 4-1 in the third on Solano’s fifth homer of the season into the second deck in left.
The Twins then chased Texas starter Jordan Montgomery in the fourth when six consecutive batters reaching base with two out.
Jordan Luplow started the rally with a single and Kyle Farmer followed with a walk. Ryan Jeffers then singled in Luplow to cut the lead to 4-2, and Matt Wallner walked to load the bases. Taylor then lined a double down the left field line to tie it 4-4, and Solano followed with a two-run single to give the Twins a 6-4 lead.
Texas closed to 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Taveras, and then tied it in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Grossman after reliever Emilio Pagan walked three consecutive batters to start the inning.
Jorge Polanco began the 10th as the automatic runner and went to third on a wild pitch by Chapman. Royce Lewis walked and Correa then lined a single to center to give the Twins a 7-6 lead. Kepler followed with a single to drive in Lewis, and one out later, Jeffers knocked in Correa with a sacrifice fly.
–Field Level Media
