The plan is all starting to come together for the Texas Rangers.
The starting pitching has been dominant, as Colby Lewis registered the team's ninth-straight quality start Saturday. The offense is clicking, as Saturday's power-fueled six-run fourth proved.
And the Rangers are playing tough baseball, as Prince Fielder kept alive the fourth inning Saturday to set the stage for four more runs by beating out what could have been a double-play grounder.
All of those factors helped pave the way for an 11-7 victory over Minnesota that pulled the Rangers within 1 ½ games of the Houston Astros in the American League West.
And it all started with Fielder keeping an inning going that could have ended with the Rangers clinging to a 4-3 lead. Instead Mitch Moreland followed Fielder with a three-run homer and then Joey Gallo hit the fourth-longest homer in Globe Life Park history, a 461-foot moonshot into the upper deck in right to push the Texas lead to 8-3.
"It's big when you get your guys to play hard like that and it's something we talked about also in spring training," manager Jeff Banister said. "Double plays just kill the inning for you. For guys to run down the line hard and go into second base hard and to send another hitter to the plate it's huge."
The Rangers had hit into double plays to end each of the first three innings against Mike Pelfrey, who had been dominant in his last four starts. But the Twins gave the Rangers an extra out in the fourth by not completing the 3-6-1 double play and they paid the price.
Texas went on to a 15-hit day that included seven extra-base hits. Moreland had four RBI but heaped praise on Fielder for keeping things going.
"Prince bust it down the line every down, doesn't matter the score, what the situation, he's always hustling," Moreland said. "But we've done that as a group really well this year, taking the extra base, really putting pressure on the defense, and the other team, and I think that kind of reflects when you start looking at our outcomes over the last month and a half, we're playing hard, not taking any pitches off, we're going out there and trying to beat them every time."
Lewis was the beneficiary of the support but he did his job too.
He was tagged for three runs in the top of the third as the Twins took a 3-1 lead. But after Texas tied the game in the bottom of the third Lewis responded with a seven pitch top of the fourth to get the offense back on the field against Pelfrey.
That was part of Lewis' plan on a hot, muggy day in a game that included a one hour, 19-minute delay in the seventh.
"It's always kind of been my MO to go out there and throw strikes and try to get quick outs," said Lewis, who had a seven-pitch fourth inning. "In a game like today or any game you move forward to summer here in Texas you want to that opposing pitcher who's not used to the heat back out there."
Lewis pitched seven innings, allowing four hits and striking out six. He stretched the string of quality starts by Texas pitches to nine-straight games, one shy of the club record.
