Texas @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 13, 2015 ) Texas 6, Minnesota 5

Losing two in a row constitutes a slump for the first-place Texas Rangers, who continue a 10-game road trip with the first of three Friday against the worst team in baseball - the Minnesota Twins. Texas, which leads Houston by 8 1/2 games in the American League West, settled for splitting four contests at New York after Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Yankees - its first consecutive setbacks since being swept in three straight outings at Oakland from May 16-18.

The Rangers, though, are off to their best 80-game start in club history at 51-29 and were 20-8 in June - one victory short of matching the franchise record for wins in a month set in September 1978 and June 2010. Minnesota (25-53) capped a 2-4 road trip with a 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, but has a hot hitter on its hands in Brian Dozier. The second baseman is batting .447 with six home runs and 13 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak while extending his club-record run of contests with an extra base hit to 11 with a solo homer Thursday. Texas' Martin Perez won his last six decisions to match a career high and opposes Ervin Santana, who is 1-0 in his last two outings after losing five straight starts.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Texas), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Martin Perez (7-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. Twins RH Ervin Santana (2-7, 4.64)

Perez allowed one run and six hits in six innings of a 6-2 victory over Boston on Sunday, running his unbeaten streak to seven starts. The 25-year-old Venezuelan permitted four runs in each of his previous two turns after yielding three or fewer in four straight outings - all wins - while pitching at least six innings in all of them. Perez lost his only appearance to Minnesota in 2012 in his third major league game and second career start.

Santana received a no-decision after allowing one run and six hits in five innings of Minnesota's 2-1 loss at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. The 33-year-old Dominican earned his only victory since May 14 when he permitted three runs (two earned) in 7 1/3 innings of a 7-4 victory over the Yankees on June 19 after allowing five runs in each of his previous three turns as part of a 7.71 ERA during his losing streak. Prince Fielder is 7-for-18 with three home runs and seven RBIs while Adrian Beltre is 15-for-60 with five homers and 15 RBIs against Santana, who is 13-11 with a 5.67 ERA in 30 starts versus Texas.

WALK-OFFS

1. Fielder (.219) went 0-for-3 on Thursday to snap an 11-game hitting streak during which he hit .368 and raised his average to .221 - the highest since going 1-for-4 opening day.

2. Twins SS Eduardo Nunez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored Thursday and has 87 hits, 32 RBIs and 39 runs scored this season, surpassing his previous career highs of 85, 38 and 30, respectively. Nunez is 8-for-18 with two home runs and four RBIs in his last four games.

3. Texas RF Shin-Soo Choo is 12-for-34 with three home runs and five RBIs in his last eight games after belting a solo home run Thursday.

PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Twins 2