Texas Rangers vs Minnesota Twins Match Player Stats On Aug 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 6, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- Max Kepler, Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario all homered, but the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 on Sunday thanks to Eduardo Escobar scoring on the third out of an inning.

Kepler and Dozier hit two-run homers in the second inning after Texas built a 5-0 lead in the first. Rosario, hitting in the cleanup spot for the first time, hit his 12th homer an inning later to tie the game.

It was Robbie Grossman's single off the right-field wall that plated the winning run in unlikely fashion. With Escobar at second base, Grossman lined a ball off the wall and tried to stretch a single into a double.

Texas right fielder Shin-Soo Choo fielded the ball quickly and threw Grossman out at second, but Escobar touched the plate just before the out was recorded. Rangers manager Jeff Banister challenged the play but it the umpire's ruling was upheld.

The run made a winner of Minnesota right-hander Jose Berrios (10-5), despite allowing five runs on six hits and one walk in five innings. Berrios allowed a pair of homers in the first but settled in to last until the fifth.

Matt Belisle pitched a perfect ninth for his first save since Oct. 3, 2012, with the Colorado Rockies.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx (3-2) allowed the run in his one inning of work in relief of starter Nick Martinez. Adrian Beltre and Joey Gallo homered for Texas as the two teams split the series.

Martinez lasted just four innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks. He was staked to a 5-0 lead after Beltre hit a three-run blast for his 10th homer of the year. The Rangers scored in the first inning in each of the four games of the series.

Gallo followed with a towering, two-run shot to the plaza in right field for his 30th of the year.

Kepler hit his first homer since July 3, snapping a drought of 24 games and 86 at-bats. Dozier hit his 20th of the season, becoming the ninth player in franchise history to hit 20 homers for four consecutive seasons. Dozier later left the game with an illness.

Berrios escaped trouble in the fifth inning when he had runners at second and third with one out. Beltre's groundball to shortstop was fielded by Jorge Polanco, who threw Choo out at home. Rougned Odor ended the inning with a fly out to right.

Texas was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

NOTES: Texas 3B Adrian Beltre was hit in the head by a foul ball in the dugout, but the Rangers said he went through a concussion test and passed before returning to the game for his fifth-inning plate appearance. ... Twins 3B Miguel Sano was out of the lineup for the second straight day as he deals with a left-hand contusion. Sano still has soreness and swelling in the hand and could be sent for more tests, but manager Paul Molitor said a stint on the disabled list is "pretty unlikely." ... Minnesota LHP Glen Perkins will head to Double-A Chattanooga to continue his rehab and could be nearing a return to the majors. Perkins hasn't pitched in a major league game since April 11, 2016 before undergoing shoulder surgery. ... Rangers LHP Jake Diekman threw 31 pitches in a live batting practice session on Saturday but manager Jeff Banister told reporters Sunday that the reliever isn't ready to begin a rehab assignment soon. Diekman has missed the entire season after surgeries for ulcerative colitis.