Six extra-base hits gave the Rangers room to work

Four doubles and two home runs gave the Texas Rangers several ways to score in their 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday at Target Field. The most valuable of those extra-base hits was arguably the first: Nicky Lopez’s double with two outs in the second inning, before Texas had a run.

The Arlington club collected 13 hits: four doubles, two home runs and seven singles. Six of those hits went for extra bases. The runs came from one RBI single, three RBI doubles and two solo homers, with the doubles doing most of the early damage.

Lopez kept the inning alive

Jake Burger and Ezequiel Duran struck out to open the second against Bailey Ober. Lopez then doubled, giving Texas a runner in scoring position with two outs. Danny Jansen followed by dropping a single into left field, bringing Lopez home to tie the game.

A Minnesota throwing error on the play allowed Jansen to reach second, but the distinction matters: the hit produced the run, while the miscue supplied the additional base.

Evan Carter then doubled Jansen home. Alejandro Osuna followed with another double that scored Carter, and Brandon Nimmo added a third consecutive double to bring Osuna across. Those three swings were different hitters doing the same basic job at exactly the right time. Texas had turned Minnesota’s 1-0 lead into a 4-1 deficit before Wyatt Langford’s called third strike ended the inning.

Lopez’s hit gave the inning a chance to continue, Jansen converted the opening, and the next three batters kept the pressure moving without needing a home run. Ober retired the first two hitters he faced, then allowed five Rangers hitters to reach base or score before escaping.

Texas did not leave the work to one star. Carter went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run. Osuna went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run.

Duran reached three times, with two singles and a walk. Corey Seager added a hit, and Jansen finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs. That distribution made the Rangers’ attack less dependent on any single spot in the order.

The homers arrived on their own

Jansen’s fourth-inning home run made it 5-1, leading off the frame. It was the only run of that inning. Carter lined out afterward, Osuna singled, Nimmo grounded out while Osuna moved to second, and Langford struck out. There was no second wave, just Jansen’s solo shot creating another run of breathing room.

Burger supplied the other home run in the fifth, with one out after Seager had flied out. His 28th homer pushed the score to 6-1. Burger had struck out in the second and flied out in the third before producing the swing that mattered. Baseball is often willing to accept a few unremarkable at-bats in exchange for one well-timed contribution.

Minnesota did make the margin smaller. Luke Keaschall tripled to begin the eighth. Brooks Lee struck out and Kody Clemens popped out before Josh Bell singled Keaschall home.

That cut the Rangers’ lead from five runs to four, but the Twins did not build a larger inning. Tyler Alexander recorded the next out when Walker Jenkins grounded out, and Jacob Latz handled the ninth with strikeouts of Austin Martin, Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini. A four-run lead did not create a save opportunity, though three clean strikeouts were an appropriately neat finish.

The praise should still come with one asterisk. Texas stranded seven runners, and the eighth inning offered a specific missed chance: Carter singled to start it, Justin Foscue struck out, and Nimmo lined out. Carter was then caught stealing second for the third out. The Rangers had already built enough cushion, but that inning showed the offense was productive rather than perfect.

Texas and Houston finished Saturday tied atop the American League West at 80-81, according to MLB’s dated standings. In that position, a team cannot be fussy about how the runs arrive. On this occasion, the Rangers could take some satisfaction in their variety: enough doubles to turn the game around, then two home runs to keep Minnesota at a distance.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score

Official game data