32-35 – Rangers trounce Twins, open series with 16-4 win

17 hits in the victory for Texas

The Texas Rangers scored 16 runs while the Minnesota Twins scored four runs.

Boy, Tyler Mahle was really off his game tonight. The Twins were practically playing wall ball with all the loud hits off the padding during the time that Mahle was on the mound. Four runs allowed on ten hits in 5 ²⁄₃ innings would practically be a criminal offense any other night this season.

Instead, while Mahle was laboring, the bats were going off on Minnesota pitching.

Of course, this season has kind of warped our perception for what a usual baseball game is like. A starter going nearly six innings and working out of trouble enough to allow only four runs is a pretty standard outing for most clubs at least a few nights per week. For the Rangers in 2025, that sort of outing would have rendered most games unwinnable this season.

On the flip side, we’re no longer accustomed to 5 ²⁄₃, 4 ER being an acceptable, competitive line. We’re spoiled. Mahle’s 2.02 ERA through 13 starts this season entering tonight’s contest shows both the high bar for his starts and that he didn’t clear it tonight.

So the funny thing is, for once, it didn’t matter that tonight’s starter wasn’t superhuman. Finally, the lineup said, “let us do the heavy lifting.”

Every member of the starting lineup had a hit. Seven batters had at least two hits with Evan Carter leading the way with three hits. The Rangers had four separate frames that produced run-scoring rallies with innings of two, three, five, and six runs, any one of which might have been the usual output for most games for Texas. The Rangers also had six extra base hits and went 9-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

By the time the barrage ended, the Rangers finished off their third win in a row. This is the first time all season that Texas has won three in a row on the road. They’ll have a shot at winning the series tomorrow. Perhaps the hits will keep coming!

Player of the Game: Carter sticks out from the abundance of success for Texas tonight with a 3-for-5 evening which included a walk, four runs scored, three runs driven in, and his third home run of the season.

Up Next: The Rangers and Twins are back at it tomorrow evening with RHP Jack Leiter next up for Texas opposite RHP David Festa for Minnesota.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Target Field is again scheduled for 6:40 pm CT and will be telecast on the Rangers Sports Network.