Corey Seager homers twice as the Rangers beat the Twins 6-2
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Corey Seager homered twice and Nathaniel Lowe had two hits and two RBIs, helping the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 on Sunday.
Josh Smith and Leody Tavares had two hits apiece for the World Series champions, who had lost six straight and 12 of 14 overall. The Rangers scored more than four runs for the first time since a 12-11 victory at Oakland on May 8.
“The boys needed this,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “At times it feels like, ‘Gosh, are we ever going to come out of this?’”
The Rangers were swept in Philadelphia before losing two of three at Target Field, but Seager used the road trip to get on a roll. Over the last five games, the Rangers shortstop is 7 for 20 with five homers and seven RBIs.
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“He’s been locked in. It’s fun to watch great hitters get in the zone, and he’s certainly there now,” Bochy said. “He got some great swings off and he’s not missing his pitches.”
Carlos Correa had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who had won four in a row. Max Kepler had a run-scoring double.
Minnesota right-hander Pablo López (4-5) was tagged for six runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in his third consecutive loss. He struck out six and walked one.
López's ERA increased to 5.25 on the season.
“It’s baseball. There’s a lot of stats. It evens out,” he said. “I’ve just got to stick through the process. I’ve just got to keep challenging people. I’m still trying as much as I can to limit free passes. I think I’m doing a good job of that. When I have the opportunity for a strikeout and execute a good pitch, I’ve also been getting those. So there are some positives in there.”
Rangers starter Gerson Garabito permitted one run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings in his major league debut. The 28-year-old right-hander had 10 seasons, pitching in the Royals and Giants organizations and in independent leagues, before getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock to make the start.
Garabito walked the first batter he faced, but he struck out Willi Castro and got Correa to ground into a double play.
“The first time, I just tried to throw the ball for a strike,” Garabito said. “That’s going to happen, I’m going to walk some guys, but I just think, OK, we need to win this game. I’m going to throw a strike. I’m going to make my pitches. ... I just threw like I know how to do my job.”
Jonathan Hernández, Jacob Latz (1-1) and José Leclerc limited the Twins to one hit over 5 1/3 innings. Latz and Leclerc combined to retire the final 13 Twins hitters.
The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third. López issued a two-out walk to Marcus Semien and Seager jumped on a 2-0 curveball for his 10th homer of the season.
They added two more in the fourth on Lowe’s RBI single and Jonah Heim’s run-scoring groundout.
Seager led off the fifth with his 11th homer. Smith doubled and scored on Lowe's second RBI single of the day.
“Everybody put together some really good at-bats today,” Heim said. “I feel like that’s the Rangers offense that I know is in there, and we saw it come out today. We’re looking to keep that rolling.”
Up next
Rangers: Texas is off Monday, and Bochy has not named a starter for Tuesday for the opener of a two-game series at home against Arizona.
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (3-3, 3.15 ERA), who pitched seven scoreless innings at Washington in his last start, takes the mound on Monday against Kansas City for the opener of a four-game series.