Desmond homer in 10th lifts Rangers
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ian Desmond's solo homer to lead off the top of the 10th inning lifted the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Target Field.
Desmond's blast, which travelled 418 feet into the upper deck in right-center field, was his 15th of the season and came off Twins left-hander Fernando Abad (1-3), who was charged with a loss for the second time in as many days.
Desmond, who hit .358 in the month of June, got his July off to a solid start, finishing a triple short of the cycle.
Trevor Plouffe had a two-run homer for Minnesota among his three hits.
Brian Dozier finished 1-for-4, extending his career-long hitting streak to 13 games, but snapped his 11-game extra-base hit streak.
Matt Bush (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory and Sam Dyson worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th for his 17th save.
After both teams failed to score a run through six innings, Texas took the lead in the seventh, drawing a pair of walks against Twins starter Ervin Santana then a single by Mitch Moreland to load the bases. The Rangers pinch hit for catcher Bobby Wilson, the No. 9 batter, with Jurickson Profar, who fell behind reliever Ryan Pressly 0-2 before muscling a broken-bat two-run single into center field.
Santana allowed two runs, three hits and three walks while striking out five in 6 1/3 innings.
The Twins quickly got it back off Rangers starter Martin Perez in the seventh. Dozier hit a lead-off single before Trevor Plouffe's seventh homer barely cleared the overhang in right field.
It was Plouffe's 91st career homer, but just his second to the opposite field.
Perez finished the inning but was awarded a no-decision after allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over seven frames.
Plouffe's infield single to lead off the fifth was the first hit allowed by Perez and was backed up by a single to left by Robbie Grossman. Max Kepler's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, but Kurt Suzuki's attempt at a safety squeeze was caught out of the air by Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, who fired to third to double off Plouffe and end the threat.
NOTES: Rangers RHP Keone Kela will pitch an inning for Triple-A Round Rock on Monday and Double-A Frisco later next week as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery. Kela was placed on the disabled list in mid-April and underwent surgery on April 22. He could return to the majors after the All-Star break. ... Rangers RHP Yu Darvish is expected to make a rehabilitation start with Frisco on Monday. Darvish, who will throw three innings and approximately 45 pitches, was placed on the disabled list June 13 with discomfort in his neck and right shoulder. ... Twins 3B/OF Miguel Sano was activated off the 15-day disabled list. Sano, who missed a month with a strained left hamstring, played in eight rehab games with Rochester, hitting two homers among four hits in 25 at-bats. ... Twins 1B/DH Byung Ho Park was optioned to Rochester to make room for Sano. Park is hitting .191 with 12 homers and 24 RBIs in 215 at-bats but was only .127 with three homers in 124 plate appearances since May 15.