The Twins fell to the Texas Rangers 4-1 in extra innings on Sunday afternoon closing out the first half of the 2019 season.
Rougned Odor delivered a three-run home run in the top of the 11th off Twins lefty Adalberto Mejia.
ROUGNED ODOR WITH THE HEROICS!@RougnedOdor breaks the stalemate in the 11th inning for the @Rangers!#TogetherWe pic.twitter.com/2fd1h0l0ru
— FanDuel Sports Network Southwest (@FanDuelSN_SW) July 7, 2019
To make matters worse, the Cleveland Indians also won today, meaning Minnesota’s lead is now down to 5.5 games in the Central Division as teams head into the All-Star Break.
Minnesota got on the board in the bottom of the second when Byron Buxton roped a triple, scoring Miguel Sano all the way from first base. However, Texas was able to tie things up in the fourth.
He says he's not the fastest Buxton BUT WE'LL TAKE IT!
@OfficialBuck103 and the @Twins strike first! #OHB2019đź“ş: https://t.co/c3nahkCgnl pic.twitter.com/vseTl0fR9C
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 7, 2019
After Kyle Gibson appeared for one inning as the opener, Devin Smeltzer – who was recalled before the game from Rochester – made his second big league appearance in the second inning. Smeltzer pitched brilliantly going 4.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out four batters.
Ryne Harper, Zack Littell and Trevor May also pitched well out of the bullpen in the loss.
There was a slight delay in the top of the eighth when home-plate umpire Gerry Davis left the game due to the heat and the entire crew had to rotate a man short.
With the loss, the Twins fall to 56-33 and will return to action on Friday, July 12 in Cleveland.
