. Mejia walked Joey Gallo and Asdrubal Cabrera ahead of Odor's one-out home run.Shawn Kelley (4-2) pitched two innings for Texas, which had lost six of its previous seven games and three straight series.The Rangers finally broke through in a game that had been tied since the fourth inning. Danny Santana singled to drive in Gallo in the fourth with one of his four hits.Shin-Soo Choo reached base four times before he was pinch-run for in the eighth with left ankle soreness. Choo was injured going back into first base on a pickoff attempt.Minnesota had chances to sweep the series, but four Texas relievers kept the majors' top offense off the board over 9 1/3 innings.In the 10th, the Twins stranded runners on second and third base when Mitch Garver fouled out to first base.Minnesota had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth. But Miguel Sano was thrown out at home trying to score on Byron Buxton's grounder to third. Buxton stole second base, but was thrown out at third by Gallo after Max Kepler's flyout.The Twins scored in the second inning when Buxton tripled to the corner in left field, scoring Sano from first base.MIX AND MATCHThe game was supposed to be a matchup of All-Star starters, but Texas skipped Mike Minor to give the left-hander extra rest. Minnesota's Jake Odorizzi was placed on the injured list earlier in the week with a blister, but is expected to return to the rotation after the break.In their place, the Rangers started reliever Jose Leclerc, who threw 30 pitches in Saturday's game. Leclerc allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings.The Twins went with starter Kyle Gibson on short rest. Gibson pitched an inning because he was scheduled to have a long break between starts. Left-hander Devin Smeltzer was recalled to be the long reliever on Sunday. He pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up one run and five hits and a walk.UMPIRE CHANGETo start the eighth inning, home plate umpire Gerry Davis was replaced by Brian Knight. Davis umpired the seventh inning with a towel around his neck on a warm day in Minnesota.The official temperature at the start was 81 degrees with very few clouds and little breeze. The final two innings were played with three umpires as Davis didn't return following the switch.TRAINER'S ROOMRangers: Manager Chris Woodward said All-Star OF Hunter Pence (right groin strain) won't be ready to return immediately following the All-Star break. Pence likely needs a few at-bats in rehab games, Woodward said.Twins: Cave pinch-ran for Kepler in the 10th inning. Kepler led off with a single to right and was checked on by the team's athletic trainer but stayed in. After he reached second, Kepler was removed from the game though the team didn't provide an update during the game.UP NEXTRangers: Texas returns from the break with a four-game home series against Houston. The Rangers haven't announced their rotation coming out of the break, but RHP Lance Lynn (11-4, 3.91 ERA) will likely start the first game of the series on Thursday.Twins: Following the All-Star Game in Cleveland, Minnesota will have a three-game road series against their division rivals, the Indians, starting Friday. Manager Rocco Baldelli wasn't ready to announce his rotation coming out of the break.---For more baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Rangers, Twins piecing together pitching for finaleFLMSunday's series finale between Texas and Minnesota in Minneapolis was originally going to feature a battle of two All-Star pitchers.Left-hander Mike Minor (8-4, 2.54 ERA) was penciled in for the Rangers, while Jake Odorizzi (10-4, 3.15) was scheduled for the Twins. But both will skip their starts to rest up for the second half of the season.Right-hander Jose Leclerc (1-2, 4.62), who struck out the side while throwing 30 pitches in one inning of relief in Saturday afternoon's 7-4 loss to Minnesota, will be used as an opener on Sunday for the Rangers, who are expected to use left-hander Joe Palumbo (0-1, 16.50) in the bulk role.Minnesota, meanwhile, will use right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.13), pitching on three days' rest after allowing two earned runs and five hits in six innings in a 4-3 victory at Oakland on Wednesday night. He is expected to take an opening role lasting two innings, with left-hander Devin Smeltzer (0-1, 3.65) expected to take over after that.Minor, who is second in the American League in ERA, last pitched on Tuesday night in a 9-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He threw 110 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and four walks, and received a no-decision.Minor, who will still attend Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Cleveland but will not pitch, has thrown 117 innings in the first half of the season, just 87 2/3 off his career high set in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves. He threw just 157 innings in 28 starts last season for the Rangers."Ten days off now is better than the short leash of last year," Minor told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "That was the thing we talked about. Woody (Texas manager Chris Woodward) talked about taking me out early. I don't like that. I like pitching until I'm pretty much done. Either I'm tired or not throwing strikes or they're hitting the ball around on me. I'd rather do this." Odorizzi was placed on the injured list with a blister on his right middle finger following an 8-6 loss at Oakland on Tuesday night that saw him allow five earned runs, including a grand slam to Chris Herrmann, in just three innings."I think it's the right thing to bump him and get him ready for post All-Star break games," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told MLB.com. "We think he's going to be fine to make those starts after the break. Everyone wants to pitch, everyone wants to play if you make the (All-Star) team, but I think everybody here is on the same page that this is the wise move. Everyone's all in on this." Minnesota will be trying to complete a series sweep of Texas which has lost six of its last seven games. The Twins, who have hit a major league record 166 home runs before the All-Star break, smacked four in a 15-6 win in Friday's night's series opener, and Marwin Gonzalez hit his 10th in Saturday's 7-4 victory, giving Minnesota 10 players with double-digit homers heading into the All-Star break.The Twins are 28-14 at Target Field this season, while Texas is 18-25 on the road.--Field Level Media
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