ARLINGTON, Texas _ Whatever nagging slump Jorge Polanco is experiencing in the field, the Twins are perfectly willing to live with it if he keeps winning games with his bat.
Polanco sailed a throw over C.J. Cron's head in the eighth inning, his fifth error in five games. But the mistake was a harmless one, given that Polanco had already delivered a bases-loaded, tie-breaking triple that carried the Twins to their first-ever four-game sweep in Texas. The Twins' 6-3 victory in their final visit to Globe Life Park froze their lead over Cleveland at 2 { games in the AL Central.
Pitching in afternoon heat that remained at 99 degrees for most of the game, Martin Perez turned in his second strong no-decision of the Twins' road trip. Perez, who allowed only one unearned run Tuesday in Milwaukee, managed five sweltering innings in his old home park, and held Texas to just two runs on five hits and four walks. Rangers catcher Jeff Mathis singled home both runs following a wild pitch, but Perez stranded seven runners before giving way to the bullpen.
The Twins had heard about the turnaround that Lance Lynn has made this season with Texas, but in his first career start against them, Lynn sure looked like the pitcher who spent four mediocre months in Minnesota last season: Long innings, lots of walks, and frequent trouble. Lynn gave up two runs in the first inning on a Marwin Gonzalez double, another in the fourth on a Eddie Rosario sacrifice fly, and departed after 112 pitches in just five innings, having allowed four hits and five walks.
Shin-Soo Choo tied the game, however, in the seventh inning, greeting Twins righthander Sam Dyson with a leadoff home run, his 20th of the season. But the Twins responded right away in the eighth, against Rangers rookie Emmanuel Clase. Ehire Adrianza led off with a single, and Jason Castro doubled him to third. After a strikeout, Adrianza was thrown on trying to score on a ground ball. But Miguel Sano walked, and Polanco came through with the third bases-loaded triple of his career, smashing a 99-mph fastball to the wall in right-center.
The Twins, who had not swept a series longer than two games in Texas since 1976, now embark on a 13-game stretch against the bottom three teams in their division, opening a six-game homestand Monday against the White Sox.
