Desmond, Dyson lead Rangers past Twins in 10 innings
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Ian Desmond homered to lead off the 10th inning for Texas, and Sam Dyson and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory Friday night over the Minnesota Twins.
Dyson surrendered a leadoff single, but he struck out the next two batters and notched his 17th save in 19 attempts. Matt Bush (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, which lifted the Rangers to a club-record 52-29 mark at the 81-game midpoint of their season.
After losing back-to-back games to the Yankees in New York on the last at-bat, including a six-run rally Wednesday against Bush and Dyson, the league-leading Rangers settled in for a series against the worst team in the majors.
Trevor Plouffe tied the game for the Twins with a two-run home run in the seventh that spoiled Martin Perez's shutout bid, but Desmond took Fernando Abad (1-3) deep to start the extra session.
Ervin Santana turned in his third straight sturdy start for the Twins, though he needed 117 pitches to log 6 1/3 innings. Two of his three walks came in the seventh, when pinch-hitter Jurickson Profar put the Rangers in front with a two-run single off reliever Ryan Pressly. Santana struck out five and allowed only three hits.
Perez retired the first 10 batters he faced and finished the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with double plays.
In the fifth, after Max Kepler sacrificed to move the runners up to second and third, Kurt Suzuki tried to bunt, too. Plouffe broke for home with the pitch, but the ball popped high enough in the air for first baseman Mitch Moreland to catch it and throw across the diamond for an easy out. Just the type of ugly mistakes that have made a bad season much worse for the Twins.
Throwing strong in his first full season since Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his elbow, Perez hasn't lost in eight starts. The left-hander allowed five hits and three walks in seven innings while striking out three, taking his second no-decision during that span.
DOZIER'S SURGE
Brian Dozier singled before Plouffe's homer, stretching his hitting streak to a career-high 13 consecutive games. His run of 11 games in a row with at least one extra-base hit ended, though. That was the longest in a single season in the majors since Chipper Jones had 14 straight in 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (shoulder) took another step toward returning to the rotation, throwing a smooth bullpen session before the game. He'll start a rehab assignment Monday with Double-A Frisco. RHP Keone Kela (elbow) could be back in the bullpen after the All-Star break. He'll pitch Monday for Triple-A Round Rock.
Twins: Miguel Sano played 3B in his return from rehab (hamstring), and he threw Adrian Beltre out with an off-balance, bare-handed grab of a slow grounder to end the sixth. Sano pumped his arm on the way to the dugout. With the RF experiment all but over, Sano will rotate between 3B and DH, manager Paul Molitor said.
UP NEXT
Rangers RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season Saturday afternoon. RHP Tyler Duffey (3-6, 5.59 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins in the middle game of the series, coming off a career-high eight innings in a win on the road over the Yankees. He gave up just two hits and one run.
