Twins 6, Rangers 5
ARLINGTON, Texas, Jul 10 — On another scorcher of an afternoon in Arlington, the Texas Rangers fell in their series finale against the Minnesota Twins by a final score of 6–5. Despite a late home run by Corey Seager, who leads all MLB shortstops with 19 home runs, the Rangers just couldn’t pull it together in the finale. With seven games left in the final home stand before the All-Star break, the Rangers will host the Oakland Athletics for a three-game set, beginning on Monday evening. The Athletics will give the starting nod to right-hander Adrian Martinez (2–1, 6.00 ERA), while Spencer Howard (0–1, 10.97 ERA) will take the mound for the Rangers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM Central.
Twins’ Offense
Neither team ran away with the lead in this one. The Twins got started early in the top of the first inning. Two batters in, Minnesota’s DH Byron Buxton stepped to the plate. He put the Twins on the board 1–0 with a solo home run to right field off Rangers starting pitcher Dane Dunning. Their next spark of offense came in the top of the second inning. Left fielder Alex Kirilloff scored on an RBI single by third baseman Jose Miranda. The score was now 2–0 in favor of the Twins. Moments later, they made it 3–0 on another RBI single. This one came off the bat of catcher Ryan Jeffers.
The top of the third inning was when the Twins scored their fourth run of the afternoon. A hit-by-pitch to Jose Miranda with the bases loaded allowed Nick Gordon to score. This made the score 4–3. In the top of the sixth inning, Jeffers contributed to the Twins’ lead again with a solo home run. The Rangers now trailed 5–3. Minnesota’s final run came on an E1 in the top of the seventh inning that drove in Jorge Polanco.
Rangers Come Close in Finale
The Rangers got on the board in a big way in the bottom of the second inning. With Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller, and Meibrys Viloria on base, rookie third baseman Josh Smith lined a three-run double to left field to tie the finale at 3–3. For the third time in as many days, the crowd noise was incredibly loud. The Rangers’ fourth run came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Corey Seager to tie the game at 4–4. Smith was the runner that was able to score from third base. For a brief moment in the bottom of the eighth inning, it looked as if the Rangers would come back in the finale, but it wasn’t to be. Their fifth and final run came on a solo home run by Seager. It was his 19th home run of the season.
Pitching Notes
It was a struggle for Rangers’ starter Dane Dunning in the series finale. He pitched 2 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs, all earned, on six hits. One of those hits was the three-run homer to Buxton in the top of the first inning. Amongst the four outs that he recorded, he walked four, and struck out two. Matt Moore came on in relief of Dunning. He pitched an inning and two-thirds. Moore walked one, and struck out one. Brock Burke was the next one out of the bullpen. He tossed two innings, and gave up one run on one hit. Burke also struck out one, and he didn’t walk anyone. He took the losing decision for the Rangers in the finale. His record for 2022 now sits at 4–2, with an ERA of 1.22.
Dylan Bundy got the wining decision for the Twins. He pitched five innings, surrendering four earned runs on six hits. Bundy also walked two, struck out four, and he didn’t give up any home runs. Right-hander Tyler Duffey got the save for the Twins. It was his second save of the year. He came on in the ninth inning, and only gave up one hit. He also had one strikeout.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Corey Seager, Adrian Martinez, Spencer Howard, Byron Buxton, Dane Dunning, Jose Miranda, Ryan Jeffers, Nick Gordon, Jorge Polanco, Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller, Meibrys Viloria, Josh Smith, Matt Moore, Brock Burke, Dylan Bundy, Tyler Duffey, Alex Kirilloff
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