26 August 2023
There was something for everyone on Friday night.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 25: Sonny Gray #54 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Target Field on August 25, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
There was some clutch two-out hitting. There were some mammoth home runs. There was a yet another quality start from Sonny Gray. And to top it all off, there was some drama, too, in the Twins’ 12-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Target Field — outfielder Joey Gallo and manager Rocco Baldelli were not around to see the benches clear in the fourth inning, having both been ejected for disputing the strike zone an inning earlier.
The Twins set the tone early, making Texas starter Dane Dunning pay for his early lack of control. Dunning walked the first two batters of the first inning before getting Carlos Correa to bounce into his major league-leading 25th double play. But after Dunning walked another two batters to load the bases, Matt Wallner made him pay with the first triple of his career, bringing home all three runs.
Ryan Jeffers, who hit a go-ahead home run late in Thursday’s game and punctuated it with a bat flip, followed by shooting a single just fair to right field, bringing home another run.
Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager arrives at second with a double next to Minnesota Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Jeffers was hit by a pitch in his next at-bat, and a half inning later, former Twins catcher Mitch Garver, who homered off Gray in the second, took a pitch to his hip area. That prompted the benches to clear and the members of both bullpens to trot in from the outfield. No punches were thrown, and nobody was ejected.
Gray finished off the fourth inning without incident, needing just four pitches to retire the side in that frame.
That was part of an efficient, effective night for the starter, who allowed just one run — the home run to Garver — in his seven innings. Gray needed just 81 pitches to complete his outing. He was lifted after a six-run seventh inning that was capped off by an Edouard Julien three-run shot to the second deck in center field that traveled 435 feet.