Twins at Rangers
The Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers have altered fortunes of late, with the former answering a disastrous 1-6 stretch by winning the first two contests of their three-game series. The reinvigorated Twins look to record a sweep in Arlington, Texas, for the first time in 41 years on Wednesday night when the clubs reconvene at Globe Life Park.
Miguel Sano answered a lackluster series-opening performance by belting a homer to highlight a three-hit performance in Minnesota's 8-1 victory on Tuesday. While the Twins have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams dating to last season, the Rangers are looking to regain the form that saw them emerge victorious in four in a row overall heading into this series. Joey Gallo (team-leading seven homers) went deep for the fifth time in seven outings on Tuesday, raising legitimate questions about how Texas manager Jeff Banister plans to keep the explosive 23-year-old in the lineup when veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre returns from injury. The Rangers' offense certainly can use more pop as they've mustered just 20 runs in their last eight games.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins LH Hector Santiago (2-1, 2.19 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Cole Hamels (1-0, 2.77)
Santiago continued his string of strong outings this season on Friday, recording his third straight quality start to emerge victorious in a 6-3 win over Detroit. The 29-year-old fanned six for the second start in a row to improve his season total to 17 strikeouts against just four walks. Santiago has struggled in his career versus Rougned Odor (.423), although he has had his way with Shin-Soo Choo (.188) and Elvis Andrus (.182).
Hamels authored his best performance this season on Friday, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings of a 6-2 win over Kansas City. Buoyed by a four-homer barrage, the 33-year-old kept the ball in the park after being taken deep in each of his previous three outings. Veteran Joe Mauer has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games overall but is 0-for-9 in his career versus Hamels, who owns a 1-1 mark and a 6.91 ERA in five career starts against Minnesota.
WALK-OFFS
1. Struggling Texas RF Nomar Mazara is 0-for-8 with two strikeouts in the series and 2-for-31 in his last eight contests overall.
2. Minnesota LF Eddie Rosario is 11-for-30 with two homers and five RBIs during his career high-tying eight-game hitting streak.
3. Odor is 1-for-11 with four strikeouts in his last three contests.