Ten plate appearances erased the Rangers’ quick start

The Texas Rangers had a 2-0 lead, a clean inning from Jacob deGrom and a chance to make Friday night feel orderly. Then Minnesota turned the bottom of the second into a six-run rush, changing the game before Texas could return to the plate after its own scoreless half-inning.

That sequence defined the Twins’ 10-2 victory at Target Field and left the Rangers chasing a deficit before the third inning began. The game did not drift away over several innings. Texas carried its early lead through Minnesota’s first inning and then failed to protect it almost immediately after the Rangers went down in order in the top of the second.

The first inning moved at Texas’s pace

Texas’s opening attack was efficient. Brandon Nimmo began with a double, Josh Jung was hit by a pitch, and Corey Seager singled Nimmo home. The Rangers led 1-0 before Minnesota recorded an out.

Wyatt Langford’s groundout brought Jung home for a 2-0 advantage and supplied the first out. Ezequiel Duran then popped out, Nicky Lopez was hit by a pitch, and Jake Burger ended the inning with a forceout.

Texas had two hits and two runs, but only Seager remained on base after Langford’s groundout; the early damage was useful because it came quickly, not because the inning was overflowing with stranded traffic.

DeGrom made that lead look more secure in the bottom half. Luke Keaschall flew out, Brooks Lee struck out and Kody Clemens grounded out. Three batters, three outs. Texas had scored twice and retired Minnesota’s first three hitters, an opening with little to criticize.

Texas then went quietly in the top of the second. Evan Carter grounded out, Danny Jansen flew out and Nimmo struck out. Minnesota’s next ten plate appearances would move at a much different speed.

Josh Bell opened the bottom half with a walk. Ryan Jeffers singled, Walker Jenkins singled, and the Twins had the bases loaded without an out. Royce Lewis’s single scored Bell and Jeffers, tying the game while Jenkins moved to third.

DeGrom did get Emmanuel Rodríguez to strike out, but that out was an interruption rather than a reset. Ryan Kreidler followed with a bunt single that scored Jenkins and put Minnesota ahead 3-2. Keaschall then tripled, bringing home Lewis and Kreidler. After the seventh plate appearance, Minnesota led 5-2.

The sixth run arrived during Lee’s plate appearance. A deGrom wild pitch allowed Keaschall to score before Lee lined out. Kody Clemens singled, and Bell finally grounded out to close the inning. Ten Minnesota batters had come to the plate. Six runs had crossed, and the Twins had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead in one half-inning.

The reversal grew through a sequence of different scoring plays. Minnesota loaded the bases with a walk and two singles. Lewis tied the score with another single, Kreidler’s bunt put the Twins ahead and Keaschall’s triple stretched the lead.

One strikeout appeared in the middle, but it did not slow the inning enough to matter. The damage arrived in waves, with each Minnesota runner forcing the next defensive problem.

The pause did not become a comeback

DeGrom produced a scoreless third, briefly stopping the bleeding. The pause was real, but it did not last. In the fourth, Kreidler walked with one out, Keaschall doubled him home, and Clemens singled Keaschall across after Lee popped out.

Minnesota led 8-2, and deGrom’s four-inning line ended at eight runs on eight hits, with three walks and five strikeouts. The Twins had reached that total without hitting a home run.

Texas had chances to make the middle innings less comfortable. Joe Ryan allowed Jansen’s single and hit Alejandro Osuna with a pitch in the fifth. In the sixth, Ezequiel Duran singled and Jake Burger walked.

Ryan escaped both situations and completed six innings with eight strikeouts, four hits and two runs allowed. Ryan issued one walk and hit three batters, giving Texas openings beyond its hits. The Rangers did not turn those later opportunities into another scoring inning.

Minnesota added two more runs in the sixth. Keaschall singled, stole second during Clemens’ at-bat and scored when Clemens hit a two-run homer. Keaschall finished 4-for-5 with a triple, double and three RBIs, while Clemens went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Those performances extended the lead, but they followed the decisive burst rather than causing the original reversal.

Texas finished with six hits, and Nimmo’s first-inning double was its only extra-base hit. The Rangers reached five other times without a hit—two walks and three hit-by-pitches—and stranded seven. Trevor Williams’ two scoreless innings kept Minnesota from adding to the margin late, but the repair work began after the game’s central turn.

Minnesota had needed ten plate appearances to score six runs and turn a two-run deficit into a four-run lead. Texas still had seven innings left to bat. It scored in none of them.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score