'They're Daggers, Man': Two-Out RBI, Defensive Miscues Too Much for Rangers vs Twins

Two-out pitching and defensive miscues dug the Texas Rangers too deep of a hole to climb out of on Monday night against the Minnesota Twins.

Chris Halicke | May 3, 2021

The Texas Rangers hoped to carry some momentum from a big series win at home to Minnesota. However, they weren't able to recapture some of the same magic that helped them defeat the Boston Red Sox three times in four games.

The Rangers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base in a painful 6-5 loss to the Twins on Monday night. Texas fought back near the end, scoring five runs in the final two innings, but were unable to pull out the win.

On the flip side, the Twins scored all six of their runs with two outs.

"They're daggers, man. They kill you," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "We talk about it on the offensive side, when you get those two-out RBI, it's debilitating. It hurts. You're one pitch away from getting out of the inning, sometimes there's two or three runs scored on you. It hurts you."

The Rangers also had an off night in the field. Joey Gallo committed a rare throwing error trying to snag a runner at third base in the second inning, but he overthrew Charlie Culberson at third base. The throw ricocheted off of Dane Dunning, who was backing him up, which allowed Minnesota to push their first run of the night across the plate.

Minnesota's second run scored on an RBI double by Josh Donaldson, where Luis Arraez was initially called out at home after Rangers catcher Jose Trevino snagged a relay throw from Isiah Kiner-Falefa while avoiding the runner. Trevino fell on top of Arraez before he touched the plate, where home plate umpire Cory Blaser then called him out. However, the replay clearly showed that Trevino never applied a tag to Arraez.

A couple of questionable routes by David Dahl and an RBI triple by Jorge Polanco that hit off Adolis García's glove near the wall in center field allowed more runs to score. Woodward mentioned it was a tough play for García in an unfamiliar park, but enough was enough.

"After that play, I looked at [pitching coach Doug Mathis] and said, 'We've given them four runs today,'" Woodward said. "It's hard to win when you give a Major League team four runs."

It's unfortunate, because Dunning pitched a solid game for the Rangers. He lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Kolby Allard logged the final 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, but gave up three runs on five hits while striking out two batters.

As they have all season, the Rangers didn't give up. Down 5-0, Adolis García hit his sixth home run of the year in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that ended Minnesota's shutout bid. Culberson followed with another run on an RBI groundout. However, the Twins added a huge insurance run in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Polanco.

In the ninth inning, Joey Gallo pulled the Rangers within a run with a two-run home run, his third of the season. However, García struck out swinging to end the comeback attempt.

The Rangers (13-17) will try to even the series on Tuesday night against the Twins (11-16). Texas will send out Kyle Gibson (3-0, 2.16 ERA) to face off against his former team. Southpaw J.A. Happ (2-0, 1.96 ERA) will oppose him.

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Published May 3, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE