ARLINGTON, Texas _ Escape the Twin Cities. Maybe that's what the Twins need to do to get their season back on track. After winning five of six games to start the season, the Twins coughed up a 2-7 record on their recent homestand and needed to regroup.
So they began a six-game road trip Monday night with three against the Rangers at Globe Life Park _ and a matchup in which they were the underdog. But they hung on for a 3-2 victory _ with all their runs coming in the fifth inning.
The Twins might have found a favorable matchup against the Rangers. Last year, the Twins won the season series 5-2, even though they finished with the American League's worst record and Texas finished with its best.
Twins right-hander Phil Hughes, historically a fly-ball pitcher, was facing the most powerful team in the American League in the Rangers. At least their 28 home runs in 19 games suggests as much.
Hughes, however, was up to the task. Texas got some hits on his trusty knuckle curve, but Hughes lasted six innings and did not give up a long ball.
Texas took a 1-0 lead in the second on back-to-back doubles by Mike Napoli and Rougned Odor. With no outs, Hughes managed to get out of the inning thanks to two grounders to short and a fine catch by Miguel Sano on Joey Gallo's fly ball down the third base line. Sano had to readjust at the last moment to make the falling catch.
Hughes plunked Napoli with a 2-2 changeup leading off the fourth and Napoli eventually came around to score when Gallo pulled a curve to right field for an RBI single and a 2-0 lead.
In six innings, Hughes gave up two earned runs on six hits, one walk and one hit batter. The Twins still were in the meat grinder, because they hadn't even reached second base against Rangers lefthander Martin Perez. The offensive drought looked to continue.
Kennys Vargas and Chris Gimenez drew one-out walks in the fifth. Eddie Rosario struck out, but Byron Buxton drew just his third walk of the season to load the bases.
Brian Dozier then pounced on a Martin pitch, lashing a double to left-center that cleared the bases and gave the Twins a 3-2 lead.
Dozier entered Monday 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. As a team, the Twins have not been great in that category, but when a key player like Dozier has a drought like that it has far-reaching implications, no matter where he's batting in the order.
But back to Buxton. Former Twin Torii Hunter had Buxton out for early work on Monday, and has been encouraging him to let pitches travel deeper across the plate before trying to hit them. Part of Buxton's .109 start to the season is that he's been hugely a pull hitter. Hunter has been talking to him about staying back and hitting to the opposite field.
Buxton tried to do that in his first at bat Monday, working the count to 3-1 before flying out to left. He walked in his next at-bat then scored on Dozier's double.
Buxton then fell behind to reliever Jose Leclerc in the seventh before striking out for a team-high 28th time.
But if Buxton can get on base a few more times in the No. 9 hole, Dozier will get more RBI chances.
