Rangers rally for 6-5 win over Twins
ARLINGTON, Texas -- A sixth-inning rally pushed the Texas Rangers past the Minnesota Twins 6-5 on Friday night at Globe Life Park.
The Rangers were trailing by a run after Miguel Sano's three-run homer in the top of fifth. But the Twins' lead didn't last long.
Nomar Mazara led off the top of the sixth with a double down the left-field line. Elvis Andrus followed with a triple to score Mazara. Then No. 9 hitter Bobby Wilson lofted a sacrifice fly to right, bringing in Andrus for the go-ahead run.
The rally made a winner of middle reliever Tony Barnette. Rangers ace Cole Hamels struggled for the second game in a row against the Twins and did not get past the fifth inning.
The Twins lost promising center fielder Byron Buxton to a knee injury in the first inning. The injury came on a triple by the Rangers' Rougned Odor, who finished a home run shy of the cycle.
Sano's three-run blast sailed just inside the left field foul pole in the top of the fifth to give the Twins their first lead of the game at 5-4.
The home run wasn't enough to chase Hamels, but three batters later he issued his third walk of the inning and was pulled.
Hamels matched his career high with six walks in the game and again did not look sharp in his second start within a week against the Twins. Hamels, who entered with a 9-2 record, threw 33 pitches in the first inning and 56 in the first two.
Hamels exited after throwing 109 pitches (61 strikes) in just 4 1/3 innings. He lasted four innings in Sunday's start at Minnesota.
Despite Hamels' struggles, the Rangers led 4-2 after four innings thanks to a pair of two-run rallies.
Odor had an RBI triple and scored on a single by Prince Fielder.
Buxton was injured trying to catch Odor's drive, crashing into the wall and leaving the game on a cart. The Twins later announced Buxton had suffered a right knee contusion and was deemed day to day.
The Twins answered with two runs in the top of the second on Kurt Suzuki's double. Suzuki scored on a high bouncer back to Hamels by Eduardo Nunez, who was safe when Rangers first baseman Jurickson Profar charged the ball and failed to cover the bag.
The Rangers reclaimed the lead two innings later on singles by Shin-Soo Choo and Ian Desmond.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game to honor the five Dallas police officers who were killed in Thursday night's downtown ambush... Rangers prospect Joey Gallo posted an Instagram picture of himself and OF Nomar Mazara with Patrick Zamarippa, one of the officers killed. The players met the officer, a devoted Rangers fan, a couple of months ago in downtown Dallas.... The Rangers' Double-A affiliate in nearby Frisco, Texas, planned to wear Dallas Police Department caps Friday and Saturday and auction them for charity... Twins 1B Joe Mauer was not in Friday's lineup despite appearing in 81 of 85 previous games. Mauer is 0-for-12 in his career against Rangers starter Cole Hamels... Twins 1B-DH Byung Ho Park, recently demoted to Triple-A, has sat for the last two games with a sore wrist... The Rangers recalled LHP Alex Claudio from Triple-A Round Rock and optioned RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez back to Round Rock. Gonzalez threw 124 pitches in Thursday's start... The Rangers made a minor league trade with Miami, acquiring LHP Eric Jokisch in exchange for INF Pedro Ciriaco.