Arlington, TX – Nelson Cruz doubled in bottom of the 10th inning to lift Texas to a 4-3 win over Minnesota in second of a three-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Cruz picked up three hits, including the game-winning double, as the Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak.
"We've been struggling to win games so it was nice to get this one," said Cruz. "Hopefully we can grab a win tomorrow and go into the break with a bit of a winning streak."
Kyle Waldrop (0-1) took the loss after giving up a leadoff single to Adrian Beltre to start the 10th. Cruz followed with a double to end the game.
Josh Willingham hit a home run, but it was not enough and the Twins lost for the third time in four games.
"There were a lot of missed opportunities from both sides today," said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. "That's why the game ended up going that deep and they were able to find a way to win it."
Twins starter Samuel Deduno was solid in the first major league start. The 29- year-old allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. He also struck out three.
Derek Holland came off the disabled list for the Rangers on Saturday to pitch six solid innings, surrendering three runs and six hits while striking out four.
The Twins gave Holland a rough greeting back, though. Justin Morneau led off the second inning with a single and Ryan Doumit followed with a double. After Trevor Plouffe's run-scoring groundout, Brian Dozier knocked in Doumit with a single for an early two-run lead.
The Rangers got a run back in the bottom half of the inning when Cruz doubled home Beltre, who led off with a single.
Texas tied the game in the fourth inning, when Josh Hamilton drove a 1-1 curveball over the left-field fence. The solo shot tied Hamilton with Jose Bautista for the major league lead with 27 home runs.
The Twins regained the lead in the sixth when Willingham smoked a sinker over the center field fence.
Beltre tied the game in the sixth when he crushed a curve out to left field, ending Deduno's night in the process.
The two teams stranded runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings, and the Twins left Ben Revere at third in the 10th, before Cruz drove home Beltre to win the game for Texas.
Joe Nathan (1-2) picked up the win for the Rangers after tossing two scoreless frames. The Texas bullpen combined for four shutout innings with three strikeouts.
Game Notes
Hamilton became the first Ranger player ever to have 27 home runs and 75 RBI before the All-Star Break...Twins reliever Jared Burton, who threw a scoreless inning Saturday, has allowed one earned run in 18 2/3 innings in his last 18 appearances...Robbie Ross lowered his earned run average to 0.96 (five earned runs in 46 2/3 innings). His 0.96 ERA would be the lowest among pre-All-Star break qualifiers since the first All-Star Game in 1933...Texas ensured its best winning percentage at the All-Star break in club history (currently .600)...Texas has gone 10-2 in its last 11 games started by opposing right- handed pitchers...Texas went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 on base...Minnesota went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
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