Major League Baseball

Rangers overcome Hamels struggles in 6-5 win over Twins

Published Jul. 9, 2016 1:39 a.m. ET

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus had RBI triples and the Texas Rangers overcame a struggling start by All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels in a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Texas twice blew two-run leads before finally going ahead for good in the sixth. Nomar Mazara had a leadoff double against reliever Ryan Pressly (2-5) before Andrus tripled and scored the go-ahead run on Bobby Wilson's sacrifice fly.

Tony Barnette (6-3) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Hamels, who matched a career high with six walks while throwing 109 pitches to get through 4 1-3 innings. Sam Dyson worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.

Hamels' second consecutive short outing extended the Rangers' club record to seven straight games when their starter didn't pitch at least five innings. The lefty went only four innings last Sunday in a loss at Minnesota.

Odor had an RBI triple in the first inning before Prince Fielder's single made it 2-0. Odor, who leads the Rangers with 16 homers, had three hits and was only a long ball short of the cycle.

Miguel Sano hit a three-run homer, his 14th, to put the Twins up 5-4 in the fifth. Hamels faced only three more batters after that, walking the last two.

The Twins have the AL's worst record at 30-56. The Rangers are the AL's top team at 54-34 even after winning for only the third time in a 10-game stretch that included three straight losses to Minnesota.

Minnesota got even at 2-all in the second when All-Star third baseman Eduardo Nunez was credited with an RBI infield single. Hamels came off the mound to field the high chopper, but when he turned to throw to first nobody was there after novice first baseman Jurickson Profar had also gone after the ball.

Shin-Soo Choo and Ian Desmond, the Rangers' other All-Star, had consecutive two-out RBI singles in the fourth to make it 4-2.

SHORT HOPS

Twins starter Kyle Gibson struck out six but allowed four runs in five innings, his shortest outing in his last six starts. ... Hamels had six walks for the third time in his career. The last had been in April 2013. ... Texas optioned Chi Chi Gonzalez to Triple-A Round Rock a day after he threw 124 pitches in 4 2-3 innings against the Twins. Left-hander Alex Claudio was recalled from that Triple-A team.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Twins: CF Byron Buxton left the game with a bruised right knee after crashing into the outfield wall in the first inning when going after Odor's triple. Buxton was taken off the field on a motorized cart. The Twins said he's day-to-day. ... SS Eduardo Escobar hasn't started since last Saturday because of a sore left hamstring. Manager Paul Molitor wants to get him in a game this weekend before the All-Star break.

Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (right shoulder) will make his next rehab start Sunday night for Double-A Frisco. ... RHP Keone Kela (right elbow) is scheduled to pitch in consecutive games for Frisco on Sunday and Monday. He hopes to rejoin the Rangers after the All-Star break.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Ricky Nolasco (3-7) makes his team-leading 18th start.

Rangers: Veteran RHP Kyle Lohse, who signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on May 14, will be called up from Triple-A Round Rock to start. The Rangers announced after Friday night's game that Nick Martinez (1-2), who had been set to start, had been optioned to Double-A Frisco and will start for the RoughRiders instead of the Rangers on Saturday night.

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