Twins Edge Rangers in Series Opener

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

August 15, 2024

Twins 3, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Aug 15) — The Texas Rangers dropped their series opener to the Minnesota Twins, 3–2, on Thursday evening. A solo home run by Willi Castro was the difference maker for the Twins in this contest. The Rangers, meanwhile, will try to even this four-game set on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. The Twins will send righty Simeon Woods Richardson (3–3, 3.78 ERA) to the mound, while the Rangers will counter with lefty Andrew Heaney (4–12, 4.05 ERA) in the middle game.

Garcia Comes Through

The Rangers scored right away in the bottom of the first off Twins righty Bailey Ober. Marcus Semien led off with a single that was out of the reach of shortstop Willi Castro. Semien jogged to second on a walk to Josh Smith. After Nathaniel Lowe flied to center, Adolis Garcia scored Semien with a single to center. Moments later, Ober issued a free pass to Wyatt Langford, advancing Smith to third and Garcia to second. Up next was Josh Jung, who plated Smith with a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Rangers a 2–0 lead.

The Twins responded in the top of the second against Rangers lefty Cody Bradford. The aforementioned Castro led the inning off with his 10th homer of the season, a solo shot to left-center. On deck was Kyle Farmer, who nearly had an inside-the-park home run on the next play. Farmer tripled on a sharp fly ball to center. A throwing error by Leody Taveras in center allowed Farmer to score to tie the game, 2–2. The Twins took a 3–2 lead in the top of the ninth off Rangers reliever Kirby Yates. After Max Kepler led off the frame with a pop out to third, Matt Wallner drew a walk and stole second. Moments later, Yates walked Manuel Margot. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch by Yates. Wallner scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right by Carlos Santana.

What Went Right for the Twins

The Twins were able to get just enough offense to squeak out the win on Thursday. Castro’s dinger loomed large as it was one of the bright spots for the Twins’ offense. Their pitching staff also did a nice job as they only allowed two runs to the Rangers all evening. It also may have helped that Corey Seager had the night off. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy wanted to give him some needed rest.

What Went Wrong for the Twins

The Rangers did all of their scoring in the first inning on Thursday. The RBI single by Garcia and the sacrifice fly by Jung did all of the talking for the Rangers in this one. After Smith scored the Rangers’ second run, the Twins took over.

No Decision for Bradford

Rangers lefty Cody Bradford did not factor into the decision on Thursday despite crafting his third quality start of the season. His line on the evening was 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R-ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K, 104 pitches/68 strikes. Bradford tossed a career-high 104 pitches, as he had never previously eclipsed the century mark in pitches in a professional game. His previous high was 99 pitches on June 9, 2023 at Salt Lake while with Triple-A Round Rock. He allowed a pair of runs in the second but did not allow a runner to advance past second base for the remainder of his outing.

Bradford worked out of a first-and-second, one-out jam in the sixth by inducing a popout and flyout to preserve the 2–2 deadlock. He gave way to José Leclerc after six complete frames with the game still tied. Bradford is now 4–0 with a 2.38 ERA as a starter this season, joining Tommy Hunter (5–0, 1.98) as the only pitchers in Rangers history to go 4–0 or better with an ERA of 2.38 or lower over his first six starts of a campaign.

After giving up the go-ahead run in the ninth, Yates was saddled with the loss. He tossed one inning, walking two and fanning one. His record is now 4–2 with an ERA of 1.19.

Ober’s Evening

Twins starter Bailey Ober also took a no-decision on Thursday. He produced a career-best 10th consecutive quality start. His line was 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R-ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 93 pitches/63 strikes. Ober has gone 7–1 with a 1.87 ERA, 75 strikeouts, and 16 walks across the span of his 10 straight quality starts. That is the longest such streak by a Twins pitcher since Johan Santana had 21 straight Quality Starts from June 9 to September 24, 2004. Thursday’s outing was his first career appearance at Globe Life Field.

After pitching one inning in relief in the eighth in which he struck out one, righty Jorge Alcala earned his third victory of the season. His record now sits at 3–3 with an ERA of 2.20.

Right-hander Jhoan Duran tossed a spotless ninth, striking out two, to earn his 17th save of the year.

Postgame Comments

After the game, there were some technical difficulties surrounding Bochy’s microphone in the interview room. Members of the media, including this writer, had to lean in tight to hear his remarks, but he still got his point across. “We just couldn’t get much going after the first inning. Had a couple chances there and couldn’t get another hit to tack on or add another run or two,” Bochy said. “It’s a tough one. They scored a cheap run there in the ninth.”