Cliff Lee faltered for the third-straight start, as Delmon Young (21) and the Twins got out to an early lead then held on to prevent the four game sweep. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)Although the Texas Rangers (72-55) have done a good job this season coming back to win games after trailing early, a 6-0 deficit in the top of the six is a bit much to ask. The Minnesota Twins (73-55) roughed up Cliff Lee (L, 10-8) for five of the six runs as the Rangers' ace got the loss for the third straight start. Lee made it only five innings, giving up five runs on seven hits before being replaced.
Things started out fine for Lee as he needed only eight pitches to get through a 1-2-3 first inning. It quickly went downhill to start the second, however, as Lee allowed back-to-back singles to Twins' outfielder Jason Kubel and first-baseman Michael Cuddyer. After striking out designated hitter Jim Thome looking, outfielder Delmon Young blasted the second pitch he saw deep over the left-center field wall and into the Twins bullpen as Minnesota took a 3-0 lead.
"It was right down the middle," Lee said of the 0-1 pitch to Young. "Looking back, that was the main reason things didn't go well tonight."
The five, six, and seven spots in the Twins' batting order knocked in all six runs for the team as Kubel, Cuddyer and Thome combined to go 4 for 12 from the plate with a couple of homers. For Lee, it's his shortest start of the season at five innings. What was supposed to be a matchup of each team's ace never materialized, at least on the Rangers' end.
On the other hand, Twins' starter Francisco Liriano (W, 12-7) held up his end of the pitcher's duel, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six in seven innings of action. Liriano retired 11 straight at one point, and didn't allow a run until the seventh inning. The 26 year old lefty mixed his pitches well, setting up hitters with hard fastballs followed by an effective changeup that kept the Rangers off-balance. Liriano hasn't lost since July 9, a stretch of eight starts.
"When I can throw my changeup, things go better for me," Liriano said. "I was getting ahead in the count and focusing on getting the first hitter."
The Rangers did rally late in the game, using three straight singles off Liriano to start off the seventh inning for the first Texas run of the game. Andres Blanco followed a batter later with a sac fly, and Texas had cut the lead to 6-2. Vladimir Guerrero continued his hot hitting the very next inning, blasting a 419 foot shot over the left field wall after a Josh Hamilton walk. This put Texas back in the game at 6-4, but Matt Guerrier was pulled after the homer and Jesse Crain and Matt Capps (S, 6) combined to retire the last four Rangers' batters in order.
While a sweep would have been nice, Texas still gained a lot in this series. Not only are they now only a half game behind the Twins for home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but Texas was able to get back on track after a rough road trip. This team got back to playing it's own Rangers' brand of baseball in this series and this will pay dividends going forward.
Looking ahead, Texas will try to pull away even further in the American League West as the Oakland A's come to town for a three-game stretch. The A's, at 63-63, are second in the division at 8.5 games behind the Rangers. Oakland is 25-36 on the road this season (and only 34-50 in night game) and this series is crucial for the A's to try to chip-away at the largest division lead in baseball.
Tommy Hunter (10-2, 3.68 ERA) will start game one for the Rangers Friday night. Hunter pitched eight innings in his last start against the Orioles, allowing three runs on five hits to get the win. The A's will start left-hander Brett Anderson (3-4, 2.86), who hasn't won in his last three starts despite going at least six innings and allowing two runs or fewer in each start.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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