GAME THREAD: How Rangers Beat Twins On Sunday
In this story:
The Texas Rangers continue their six-game road trip on Sunday with the third game of a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins.
Friday’s opener turned into a low-scoring affair, as the Twins won, 2-1, on the strength of two solo home runs in the first inning.
The Rangers won Saturday’s game, 4-3, in 10 innings.
The Rangers are still adjusting from a tumultuous homestand that ended on Thursday and saw the organization reshape its future.
The Rangers fired team president Jon Daniels on Wednesday and installed general manager Chris Young as the overseer of all baseball operations. It’s a seismic shift for an organization that just two days before that fired manager Chris Woodward and installed third-base coach Tony Beasley as interim manager, who is now 2-3 in his first stint as a Major League manager. The team’s principal owner, Ray Davis, put it simply when talking about Daniels’ dismissal — “we’re not very good.” Young is with the team in Minnesota and Davis said he’ll continue communicating with the team about the changes in the organization while on the trip.
Scroll down to follow along with today's game.
Texas Rangers (54-66) at Minnesota Twins (62-56)
August 20, 2022, Target Field, Minneapolis, Minn., 6:10 p.m. (CDT)
Starting Pitchers
TEX: RHP Kohei Arihara (0-1, 4.76)
Vs.
MIN: RHP Joe Ryan (9-5, 3.92)
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Rangers Pre-Game Transactions:
OF Kole Calhoun activated from 10-day Injured List
INF/OF Josh Smith optioned to Round Rock (AAA)
Rangers Injury List:
P Jon Gray (15-day, left oblique strain), placed on Aug. 2. He is eligible to return, but his recovered was expected to take 4-6 weeks.
P Dennis Santana (15-day, left ankle sprain), placed on Aug. 4 (retroactive to Aug. 3). He is eligible to return. Santana is on an injury rehab assignment.
P Spencer Howard (15-day, right shoulder impingement), placed on Aug. 10 (retroactive to Aug. 8), eligible to be activated on Aug. 23.
P Joe Barlow (15-day, right index finger blister), placed on Aug. 19 (retroactive to Aug. 18). Eligible to be activated on Sept. 2. Note: This is the second time Barlow has been on the injured list due to a blister in the past two months.
OF Eli White (60-day, right wrist fracture), placed on June 13. He has missed 57 games but he is expected to return at some point this season.
C Mitch Garver (60-day, right forearm flexor tendon repair surgery), placed on July 11. He is not expected to return this season.
Follow the Game
TV
Rangers – Bally Sports Southwest
Twins - Bally Sports North
Radio/Internet
Rangers – 105.3 The Fan, KFLC 1270
Twins – Treasure Island Baseball Network - 830 WCCO-AM, KMNB 102.9 FM
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Texas Rangers Starting Lineup
1. 2B Marcus Semien
2. SS Corey Seager
3. 1B Nathaniel Lowe
4. RF Adolis García
5. C Jonah Heim
6. CF Leody Taveras
7. LF Kole Calhoun
8. DH Brad Miller
9. 3B Ezequiel Duran
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Minnesota Twins Starting Lineup
1. DH Luis Arraez
2. SS Carlos Correa
3. 2B Jorge Polanco
4. 1B Jose Miranda
5. RF Max Kepler
6. CF Nick Gordon
7. 3B Gio Urshela
8. LF Jake Cave
9. C Sandy León
Top of First
Joe Ryan (MIN) pitching
Texas was looking for its second win of the series, and had to wait until after a pre-game ceremony honoring former Twins, including Dan Gladden. Marcus Semien led off with a groundout to Twins shortstop Carlos Correa. Corey Seager followed by striking out looking. Nathaniel Lowe then struck out looking and Ryan had a quick end to his first inning. Rangers 0, Twins 0.
Bottom of First
Kohei Arihara (TEX) pitching
Arihara began his second Major League start this season by facing Arraez, who flew out to Kole Calhoun in left field. It was Calhoun’s first play since returning from the injured list. Correa then struck out swinging on four pitches. Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco followed with an opposite-field single to Calhoun in left field. Twins first baseman Jose Miranda then flew out to Adolis García in right field to end the inning. Rangers 0, Twins 0.
Top of Second
García made the last out of the first inning for the Rangers and he ended up being the Rangers’ first out of the top of the second as he struck out swinging to Ryan on four pitches. Catcher Jonah Heim followed and he struck out swinging, giving Ryan four strikeouts in the first five Rangers hitters, and that point four straight. Center fielder Leody Taveras tried to bunt out, but Ryan handled it cleanly and tossed it to Miranda for the final out. Rangers 0, Twins 0.
Bottom of Second
Kepler led off the inning with a single to the gap in right-center field, with Taveras tracking it down before it could get past him and to the wall. Twins center fielder Nick Gordon then grounded to Lowe at first base. Lowe tapped the bag at first to force out Gordon, but that meant he needed to turn quickly to try and throw out Kepler at second. Despite a high throw, Seager was able to leap up, catch the ball and tag out Kepler for the double play to wipe out the threat. Twins third baseman Gio Urshela grounded out to Seager to end the inning. Rangers 0, Twins 0.
Top of Third
Calhoun, in his first start since coming off the injured list, ended up flying out to Gordon in center field, though Gordon needed to track the fly ball to the warning track before he caught it. Designated hitter Brad Miller flew out to Twins left fielder Jack Cave. Ezequiel Duran followed by striking out swinging to end the inning. Rangers 0, Twins 0
Bottom of Third
Cave led off by striking out swinging against Arihara, which was the Rangers’ second strikeout victim of the game. Catcher Sandy León followed with a soft groundout to Duran at third base, which took the Twins back to the top of their order with Arraez. He grounded out to Seager for the third out. Rangers 0, Twins 0
Top of Fourth
Semien led off the inning with his 19th home run of the season, a solo shot to the second deck of left field at Target Field. That gave the Rangers the lead. Seager followed with a first-pitch groundout to Polanco at second base. Lowe followed with a swinging strikeout on three pitches. García grounded out to Polanco at second base to end the inning. Rangers 1, Twins 0.
Bottom of Fourth
Correa led off the inning by grounding out Seager on the first pitch for the first out. Polanco followed by getting hit by a pitch with a 3-0 count to put a runner at first for Miranda. He hit a weak groundout to Arihara, who threw out Miranda at first. But the fielder’s choice advanced Polanco to second base for Kepler. He worked Arihara to a full count before grounding out to Lowe at first base to end the inning. Rangers 1, Twins 0.
Top of Fifth
Heim led off the inning for the Rangers. He drew a 3-2 walk from Ryan, which gave Taveras a baserunner to work with. But he swung at the first pitch and flew out to Kepler in right field. Calhoun followed and grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. At that point, Ryan was sitting on just 55 pitches, 39 of which were strikes. Rangers 1, Twins 0
Bottom of Fifth
Gordon led off the inning with a groundout to Lowe at first, which required Lowe to relay the toss to Arihara, who was covering the bag. Urshela followed with a groundout to Duran at third base. Cave flew out to Taveras in center field to end the inning. Like Ryan, Arihara was having an efficient game through five innings, having thrown just 56 pitches. Rangers 1, Twins 0.
Top of Sixth
Miller led off for the Rangers and drew a walk. The Twins paid Ryan a mound visit, but Ryan followed that by issuing a walk to Duran, putting two runners on for Semien, who had the only RBI of the game the game to that point. Semien lined out sharply to Polanco, keeping both runners at their bases. Then Seager hit a sharp line drive to Kepler in right field and the ball hit the ground right in front of Kepler. Miller was able to get to third base, but Duran wasn’t able to get to second in time because he wasn’t sure if he needed to tag up or not. Seager reached first on a fielder’s choice and there were runners at the corners for Lowe. He hit a screaming liner up the middle, which Ryan caught for the final out and ending the Rangers’ scoring threat. Rangers 1, Twins 0.
Bottom of Sixth
León struck out on three pitches. Arraez followed by flying out to right field. Correa then popped out to left to end the inning. It marked the first time Arihara had finished six innings in an MLB start. Rangers 1, Twins 0.
Top of Seventh
Ryan came out for a seventh inning and faced García to start the inning. He worked Ryan to a full count and hit a ground ball right down the third-base line to Urshela, who had to backhand it and throw across his body. He couldn’t get the ball to first base in time and it was scored a single, so García’s hit streak moved to 18 games. It was also just the Rangers’ second hit of the game. Heim was next, but García stole second on the first pitch to put himself in scoring position for Heim, who was 0-for-1 with a walk for the game. Heim finally hit a grounder to Polanco at second base, positioned on the outfield grass, for the first out. But García moved to third. That led to a pitching change.
Twins Pitching Change: Trevor Megill for Joe Ryan
Taveras was the first Ranger Megill faced, and his second pitch hit Taveras on the foot, which allowed him to move to first base. Taveras showed bunt, but it looked like he pulled the bat back before it hit him on the foot, which would have made it a strike. Instead Megill had runners at the corners for Calhoun. He fouled off the first three pitches before striking out swinging, though he tried to hold back the swing. Miller toed in trying to give the Rangers an insurance run and he delivered. His single to center field scored both García from third and Taveras from second to give the Rangers a three-run lead. Duran followed with a single to right field, which moved Miller to second base and gave Semien a chance to add to the lead with a runner in scoring position. During the at-bat, a passed ball allowed both Miller and Duran to move up a base, putting both in scoring position as Semien faced a 2-1 count. Semien pulled a single to left field, scoring both Miller and Duran, the latter of which had to stutter-step around the tag by León. The Twins challenged Duran’s safe call and the call was overturned, leading Duran to be called out and ending the inning. Rangers 4, Twins 0
Ryan Pitching Line: 6 1/3 innings, two hits, two run (earned), three walks, six strikeouts, 88 pitches, 56 strikes.
Bottom of Seventh
Arihara started the seventh inning by giving up two straight hits to Polanco and Miranda. That was enough for Rangers manager Tony Beasley, who went to the bullpen.
Rangers Pitching Change: Taylor Hearn for Kohei Arihara
Hearn faced Kepler to start his relief stint. Hearn struck Kepler out for the inning’s first out. The Twins turned to pinch-hitter Tim Beckham, who was hitting .105 for the season entering the at-bat. He hit for Gordon, the Twins’ center fielder. Beckman struck out swinging. Urshela batted next, and he flew out to Taveras, who made to make a running catch for the final out. Rangers 4, Twins 0.
Arihara Pitching Line: Six-plus innings, four hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts, 71 pitches, 45 strikes.
Top of Eighth
Twins Pitching Change: Emilio Pagan for Trevor Megill
Megill Pitching Line: 2/3 innings, three hits, two runs (earned), no walks, one strikeout, 15 pitches, 10 strikes.
Pagan started the eighth by facing Seager, who was still looking for his first hit of the game. He grounded out to Correa at shortstop. Lowe was next, and he clobbered Pagan’s second offering over the right-field seats for a solo home run to push the Rangers’ lead to five runs. It was Lowe’s 18th home run of the season. García followed by flying out to Cave, who moved out to center field after Beckman took over in left after pinch-hitting for Gordon. Heim then struck out to end the inning. Rangers 5, Twins 0.
Bottom of Eighth
Hearn returned for a second inning on the hill for the Rangers. Pinch-hitter Gilberto Celestino struck out swinging. Another pinch-hitter, Gary Sanchez, also struck out swinging. Arraez grounded out to Semien to end the inning. Rangers 5, Twins 0.
Top of Ninth
Pagan came on for a second inning and Taveras singled to left to lead off the frame. Calhoun then hit an opposite-field single to move Taveras to second. Bubba Thompson came in to pinch-run for Calhoun. Miller then singled to score Taveras and move Thompson to third base. Duran struck out swinging, followed by Semien’s sacrifice fly, which scored Thompson. Seager hit an opposite field single to left, which moved Miller to second. Seager was the final Rangers starter with either a hit or walk in the game. Lowe hit a choppy grounder up the middle, which Polanco fielded and tried to throw Lowe out with a throw across his body. But Lowe beat it out and the bases were loaded with two out for García. He struck out swinging to end the inning. Rangers 7, Twins 0.
Bottom of Ninth
Hearn came out for his third inning of work in line for his first career save. Correa led off with a lineout to Semien up the middle. Polanco followed and was called out on strikes. Miranda grouned out to Seager to end the game and give the Rangers their second straight win. Final: Rangers 7, Twins 0.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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