Walk Off Victory for Twins; Still No Win for Rangers at Target Field

After trailing 4-1, the Rangers came back to tie the game but just weren’t able to seal the deal. Mark Lowe relieved Derek Holland, who had an exceptional fastball for the entire night, in the 8th inning and took the loss. Arthur Rhodes came in to close out the game but in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, he allowed an RBI single to Alexi Casilla to give the Twins a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Rangers’ Homers

Josh Hamilton hit a homer in his first at-bat Thursday night, which was his fourth for the 2011 MLB season. Nelson Cruz also hit a homer into the upper deck in left field and is only the second player to do so. This home run was his 15th of the season, which sent Twins’ starting right-handed pitcher Nick Blackburn packing. It was this home run that tied the game 4-4 and gave the club the opportunity to get their first win here.

Consistent Pitching Despite Four Runs

Holland pitched very well last night. He had only a couple pitches that he couldn’t pull through, which hurt him, but he was very consistent throughout the entire night. He is definitely improving on the mound for the Rangers. One mistake was when he allowed a three run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to Michael Cuddyer, which took the score from 1-1 to 4-1. However, Holland did have 10 strikeouts for the night, which tied his MLB career high.

Last month, the Rangers were able to get their first win ever at Citizens Bank Park and will look to get their first win at Target Field as they continue this four-game set against the Minnesota Twins. Keep an eye for the preview for tonight’s game.

*** Other Notes ***

Tommy Hunter, who has been out with a right groin strain, had a rehab start in AAA Round Rock tonight in which he did not permit a single hit or run over the duration of three innings. He only walked one batter and struck out two.