Carlos Santana delivered a crucial three-run homer that broke a tie, while Ryan Jeffers also went deep with a bat that looked like a pencil, leading the playoff-contending Minnesota Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
Just a day after hitting a game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, Santana crushed his 17th home run of the season with one out in the fifth inning, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead. The shot also ended the night for Texas starter Andrew Heaney (4-13), who now holds the most losses in the majors.
“It was a challenging game,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “But we battled through it and found ways to come up big. Santana and Jeffers had huge swings for us tonight.”
With the win, the Twins (69-53) are now 16 games above .500 for the first time since their 101-win season in 2019. They’re within three games of the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, who lost their game. Minnesota has been the hottest team in the MLB since April 22, racking up 62 wins after a slow start to the season. They currently hold the AL’s second wild card spot.
On the other side, the reigning World Series champion Rangers (56-67) find themselves 11 games under .500 for the first time this season. Texas has dropped 15 of their last 20 games following a five-game winning streak in late July.
Twins rookie Simeon Woods Richardson (4-3), a Texas native, allowed two runs over five innings, while Jhoan Duran, the sixth Minnesota pitcher, closed out the ninth inning for his 18th save in 19 attempts.
“We battled hard, every pitch,” said Woods Richardson. “It wasn’t my best outing, but I knew I had to keep things under control and give my team a chance to win. Our bullpen did an incredible job, and our bats came alive at the right time.”
Heaney struck out eight batters over 97 pitches, starting his night with a 16-pitch battle against Manuel Margot, who fouled off 11 pitches—eight in a row—before finally flying out to left. Santana and Max Kepler followed with outs on just one pitch each, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Santana’s later heroics from securing the Twins’ win.
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