It was a good news-bad news Thursday for the Minnesota Twins . Let's start with the good.
Carlos Santana hit a sacrifice fly off All-Star closer Kirby Yates in the ninth inning and the playoff-contending Twins won 3-2 at Texas on Thursday night in the series opener against the reigning World Series champion Rangers.
Santana’s deep fly to right-center came after Yates (4-2) issued consecutive one-out walks and then threw a wild pitch.
“He’s seen it all ... he really knows what he needs to do,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Santana. “We don’t need a bomb. We don’t need really anything but a barrel. He got the pitch up and drove it out there. Nice job, professional.”
Willi Castro homered for the Twins (68-53), who moved within four games of idle Cleveland for the AL Central lead. Minnesota currently holds the American League’s second wild card.
The Twins got a key start from Bailey Ober who gave them six strong innings and gave the team a chance to win it late.
"You know, nothing was there for more than a hitter or two and then you would kind of have to find something else," manager Rocco Baldelli said after the win. "But, it really shows you the quality of him as a major league starting pitcher right now, to be able to go out there, not probably executing the way you normally would, and still pitch the way that he pitched is fantastic. It's a great sign and it shows just how good he is at what he's doing."
Now the bad news because injuries aren't limited just to Viking rookie quarterbacks .
All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa is still sidelined with foot issues and now centerfielder Byron Buxton is heading to the 10-day injured list the Twins announced Thursday. It comes after Buxton was removed from a game because of inflammation in his right hip.
Baldelli said Buxton, who wasn’t with the playoff-contending Twins for their series opener at Texas, had an injection and was doing OK, but wasn’t going to be available to play for a few more days.
“We just understood that he wasn’t going to be back for a few more days and we have some other players that are probably also going to need to be off at some point over the next handful of days,” Baldelli said. “We just can’t play short for almost a week in order to do that.”
The IL move was retroactive to Tuesday, so the earliest Buxton could return is Aug. 23.
Minnesota recalled infielder Edouard Julien from Triple-A St. Paul for his third stint with the Twins this season.
The 30-year-old Buxton was hitting .275 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs in 90 games this season. He had seven homers in his last 55 at-bats before striking out in the fifth inning against Kansas City on Monday night, then being replaced in the field in the sixth inning. The Twins described him then as day to day.
It's just one more challenge for a team that has battled through numerous injury issues all season but is still hanging tight in the playoff race. That fight is something Baldelli said came through again during Thursday's win in Texas.
"I think our guys were pretty determined today," he said. "A lot of guys, although we didn't come through (with) runners in scoring position as often as we wanted to, we did a lot of good things. We kept going, we kept at 'em, kept them at zero."
FRIDAY PREVIEW
Minnesota Twins (68-53, second in the AL Central) vs. Texas Rangers (56-66, third in the AL West)
Arlington, Texas; Friday, 7:05 p.m. Pregame 6:30 p.m. on WCCO Radio and the Audacy app (in-market restrictions apply).
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Simeon Woods Richardson (3-3, 3.78 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 91 strikeouts); Rangers: Andrew Heaney (4-12, 4.05 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 115 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Rangers -115, Twins -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers take on the Minnesota Twins looking to end a three-game home slide.
Texas is 56-66 overall and 31-28 at home. The Rangers have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .239.
Minnesota has a 32-29 record on the road and a 68-53 record overall. The Twins have the ninth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 4.10.
Friday’s game is the fifth meeting between these teams this season. The Twins have a 3-1 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcus Semien has 22 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs while hitting .242 for the Rangers. Corey Seager is 10-for-42 with a double and five home runs over the past 10 games.
Ryan Jeffers leads the Twins with 17 home runs while slugging .444. Max Kepler is 11-for-37 with a double, a home run and four RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 3-7, .236 batting average, 5.45 ERA, outscored by 12 runs
Twins: 5-5, .247 batting average, 3.89 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
INJURIES: Rangers: Josh Sborz: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Nathan Eovaldi: day-to-day (side), Jake Latz: 15-Day IL (forearm), Max Scherzer: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Evan Carter: 60-Day IL (lumbar), Jon Gray: 15-Day IL (groin), Cole Winn: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carson Coleman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Twins: Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (hip), Joe Ryan: 15-Day IL (tricep), Brooks Lee: 10-Day IL (biceps), Brock Stewart: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Kirilloff: 60-Day IL (back), Kody Funderburk: 15-Day IL (oblique), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (foot), Chris Paddack: 15-Day IL (forearm), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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