Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia and Sam Haggerty each pounded three-run home runs and three other Texas players added solo shots as the Rangers overpowered the Minnesota Twins 16-3 on Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Texas, which has been struggling to produce runs this season, broke out in a huge way in winning twice in the three-game set. The Rangers racked up a season-high 16 runs on Tuesday in the series opener and matched that number on Thursday, thanks mostly to six home runs — four of them off Minnesota starter Bailey Ober.
Rangers starter Patrick Corbin (4-5) surrendered three runs in six hits and three walks over five-plus innings while striking out six. He was credited with a win for the first time since May 14 against the Colorado Rockies, snapping a streak of four starts without a victory.
Texas ended its season-high nine-game road trip 4-5 after dropping the first three contests in Tampa against the Rays. The Rangers won their second straight series and their fourth game in their past five outings with an offensive barrage that began with Josh Smith’s home run to open the game.
After Minnesota answered in the bottom of the first inning on Carlos Correa’s RBI single to tie the game, Texas responded with a five-run second highlighted by a solo home run by Jake Burger, a run-scoring single by Kyle Higashioka and a three-run round-tripper by Langford made it 6-1.
Evan Carter added the Rangers’ fourth homer with a solo shot with one out in the fifth. Carter’s single in the sixth drove home Smith and, after a stolen base, Burger followed with a single that plated Marcus Semien and Carter and expanded the margin to 10-1.
Ober (4-3) went 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs in six hits and six walks while striking out three. He is now 0-2 over his past seven starts and has not won since beating the host Boston Red Sox on May 3.
Garcia ripped three-run homer off reliever Joey Wentz to push the lead to 13-1 and cap the Rangers’ six-run sixth inning.
Will Castro’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth chased Corbin before Brooks Lee’s groundout off Hoby Milner scored Royce Lewis and cut the Twins’ deficit to 13-3.
Castro’s two hits paced Minnesota’s eight-hit attack.
Haggerty added his three-run homer off Jonah Bride in the ninth as the Rangers finished with 16 hits in the win.
–Field Level Media
