*Photo from TheState*
The Minnesota Twins entered Thursday's matchup with the Texas Rangers having an 0-6 record in extra inning games this season. Unfortunately for them, that record went to 0-7. Joey Gallo homered, Willie Calhoun hit the game winning single, and the Rangers defeated the Twins with a 4-3 win in 10 innings on Thursday afternoon, to continue Minnesota's extra inning woes.
Max Kepler got the Twins on the board in the first inning with a solo homer to make it 1-0 early on. In the second, a solo homer from Gallo and an RBI single from Isiah Kiner-Falefa gave Texas a 2-1 lead after two innings. In the 3rd, Willians Astudillo put the Twins up 3-2 with a two run single to left field. In the 7th, Jonah Heim tied the game for the Rangers with a solo homer. In the 10th, Calhoun scored Heim with an RBI single to put the Rangers ahead for good.
Calhoun said of his 10th inning at bat that "I was just trying to make contact at that point. I was just trying to choke up a lot and try to get on top of anything and make sure I put the ball in play. I'm just trying to keep it simple and use the whole field right now, and it seems to be working a little bit."
Taylor Hearn got the victory for the Rangers, pitching two scoreless innings of relief for the Rangers, striking out one hitter. Jordan Lyles got the start and the no decision, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and two walks, striking out 7 hitters in 5 innings pitched. Brett De Geus threw two scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Hearn, and Josh Sborz shut down the Twins in the 10th for the save.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said of his team that "The way they cheer for each other, the way they care about each other, the way they talk about the game with one another on the bench, in the locker room and off the field, it's just like they care. And they're willing to do the things that we need to do to win games and have very tough conversations with one another."
Tyler Duffey got hit with the loss for the Twins, throwing 1 1/3 innings toward the end of the game, allowing the single to Calhoun in the 10th. Michael Pineda got the no decision in his start, getting tagged for two runs on 6 hits and one walk, nabbing 5 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Hansel Robles, Taylor Rogers, and Caleb Thielbar also pitched.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the poor extra innings performance that "Could there be pressure? After seven of them, could that be something that guys are thinking about? I think everyone’s thinking about it at one point or another when you approach those situations. But it still doesn’t mean we can’t refocus on what we have to do."
The Rangers open up a weekend series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, with Mike Foltynewicz getting the start for Texas. Meanwhile, Minnesota faces the Detroit Tigers over the weekend, with Matt Shoemaker starting Friday night.
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