Like so many times so far this season, the Twins were this close to a victory — only for errors and late pitching lapses to deflate any momentum that had been bubbling up.
The Twins scored three runs off two homers but couldn't hang on to their lead, falling 6-3 to the Texas Rangers in 10 innings on Tuesday at Target Field in front of an announced crowd of 8,022 fans. The Twins, who allowed two runs in the ninth and three in the 10th, are 0-6 in extra innings this year.
Adolis Garcia hit a 10th-inning two-run home run to left-center field to break a 3-3 tie.
Twins starter J.A. Happ was the first to relinquish a run, hitting Rangers leadoff batter Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a pitch and later walking Nate Lowe. Garcia's line-drive single put Texas up 1-0 in the first inning.
But as often is the case for the Twins these days, Byron Buxton had the answer at the bottom of the first. After former Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson walked Josh Donaldson, Buxton smacked a two-run homer 433 feet.
The score remained tied until the fifth inning, when Willians Astudillo hit a solo home run 379 feet. Astudillo slotted into first base in place of rookie Alex Kirilloff, a late scratch from Tuesday's lineup because of wrist soreness. Jake Cave took Luis Arraez's place in left field when the utility player went on the seven-day concussion list after a collision at home plate in Monday's game.
Besides the home runs, the Twins' only other hit was a line drive down the right-field foul line from Mitch Garver in the fourth inning. The Rangers posted seven hits, including two in a comeback ninth inning.
Willie Calhoun hit a 417-foot homer to center field off reliever Taylor Rogers, pulling Texas within 3-2. Josh Donaldson then fumbled a ground ball to allow a base hit from Charlie Culberson. Pinch-hitter Andy Ibanez sliced a ground ball to left field for another base hit, and pinch-hitter Jose Trevino's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third. Kiner-Falefa hit a sacrifice fly to even the score at 3-all.
Buxton had the catch at the wall on Nick Solak's fly ball to give the Twins a chance to seal the win, though they again went hitless. Since Astudillo's homer, the Twins had 15-consectuive batters retired.
Happ went 5⅓ innings, allowing four hits, one earned run and a walk while striking out three. Gibson went eight, giving up three hits, three earned runs and two walks but striking out eight.
Meanwhile, the Twins cycled through Hansel Robles, Tyler Duffey and Rogers. Robles gave up no hits in 1⅔ innings. Duffey allowed one hit in two-thirds of an inning. And Rogers, in his second blown save, went 1⅓ innings, allowing two hits and two runs (one earned). Brandon Waddell came in for the 10th inning.
Gibson won his 33rd game at Target Field, extending a record after his 2013-19 tenure for the Twins. This was his first appearance against his former team since departing for the Rangers.
"Obviously guys have a pretty good feel for what he does, how he pitches," manager Rocco Baldelli said of Gibson before the game. "We're going to get him up in the zone and force him to throw some strikes, I think, but our guys have to just lock in the same way that we normally do. It's not like you have some lengthy double-secret plan that you're going to take out into the game that's going to give us some massive advantage. But being familiar with a guy and how he works and what he has and how he does his thing, I think will certainly give us a good ability to make adjustments as the game goes on."
The Twins are tied 1-1 with the Rangers this series and play the third of the four-game installment at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday.
The Twins fell to 11-17, failing to establish a season-high four-game win streak. The Rangers improved to 14-17.
