Twins 12, Rangers 2: Twins Ambush the Rangers With 17 Hits in a Much-Needed Laugher

Box Score
SP: Zebby Matthews - 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 68 strikes (73%))
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (4), Kody Clemens (11)
Top 3 WPA: Matthews (0.14), Larnach (0.12), Byron Buxton and Clemens (0.11)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins came into Tuesday night's contest in Arlington, Texas with a couple of unique scenarios in play. First, they were aiming to win their third game in a row for the first time since mid-May's trip to Fenway Park. Second, both teams have an off day looming mid-series,setup with the World Cup coming to Arlington on Wednesday. With a sporadically tough young righty in Kumar Rocker on the hill for the Rangers, Zebby Matthews had an opportunity to vault Twins Territory into a happy off-day with a solid performance. All of the suspense and setup of this paragraph were happily erased by the fourth inning, though. Here's how a much neemuch-neededded laugher unfolded in Minnesota's favor for once.

Twins Cash in Early and Often
When Derek Shelton moved Byron Buxton into the second spot of the order last week, his goal was to get more runners on base for the slugging center fielder. Trevor Larnach torpedoed his manager's plan to start the game, but this time fa,ns still had something to cheer about. 1-0 Twins on the second pitch.

Buxton didn't let Larnach's insubordination deter him, as he quickly reached first on an infield single. The next two batters got out, but managed to advance Buxton to third. Josh Bell then kept his RBI streak rolling with a single to deliver a 2-0 lead.

Things moved along with little fanfare until the top of the third inning, when Rocker again faced a leadoff Larnach, who singled this time. Buxton walked to set the stage for tonight's right fielder, Kody Clemens. Clemens broke the game open with one Texas-sized swing.

The Twins stacked a Brooks Lee double and a Luke Keaschall walk after that in the third, but they wouldn't strike again until the top of the fourth. This time i,,t was Alex Jackson in the nine spot who got the leadoff knock with a ringing double to left. Larnach couldn't keep the cycle train moving, but Buxton got a two-base gift from Brandon Nimmo and the Twins found themselves back in scoring position. That play ended Rocker's night, as Cal Quantrill got the call to put out the fire. Clemens got intentionally walked with one out, so that Royce Lewis got a bases lobases-loadedaded opportunity. The Rangers had heard that Lewis was prone to trying to yank outside off-speed pitches into double play grounders. They forgot that Lewis learned the power of station-to-station hitting on Sunday afternoon, and he laced an outside cutter into center for a casual, ho-hum, two-run single. 7-0, and the rout was on!

What happens when the former number one pick keeps the line moving for his teammates? Bell just keeps raking, that's what. Bell sent a double into the right-field corner, and Nimmo struck again with a throw that bounced into the infield allo,wing Lewis to score as well to make it 9-0. A Keaschall single eventually plated Bell, and Matthews had a 10-0 lead before he ever got the rock for the bottom of the fourth.

The Zebby Show Rolls Through the Seventh
While the announcers went to B-roll material to try to maintain a level of interest in the blowout, Matthews kept on cruising through the Texas lineup. He surrendered single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but he escaped damage and completed seven solid frames for the fourth time in seven starts this season. The defense came to play, Matthews didn't walk anyone, and the business that needed to get taken care of when you get spotted such a large early lead got taken care of. No tense bullpen moments tonight. In fact, the Twins tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth just to be sure. Indeed, a fully rested and newly inspired team will take the field on Thursday in search of their first four-game winning streak since mid-April. 

What’s Next?
The Twins will cheer for soccer and such on Wednesday, and then attempt to sweep their way out of Texas. Twins righty Joe Ryan (4-3, 3.17 ERA) looks to provide the knock-out start, while former number two overall pick Jack Leiter (3-6, 4.86 ERA) looks to salvage the finale for the home team. First pitch is scheduled for 1:351:35 pmpm CDT on Thursday.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet