The Twins got a boost with the return of Michael Pineda to the pitcher’s mound Thursday night and the bats backed him up with 11 runs in five innings en route to a 13-6 win over the Rangers.
Pineda pitched five scoreless innings in his first start back from a triceps strain that landed him on the 10-day injured list. In the 6-foot-7 right-hander’s last six starts, he has an impressive 2.23 ERA.
The Twins took advantage of two Texas errors and scored five runs in the second inning, highlighted by a solo homer by Luis Arraez, his second of the season. They added a run in the third, four more in the fourth and grew the lead to 11-0 on Miguel Sano’s 22nd homer of the season in the fifth.
Eddie Rosario slugged the third homer of the game for the Twins, giving them 236 this season, just 31 shy of setting the single season MLB record set by the Yankees last year.
Marwin Gonzalez led the Twins at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI. The veteran switch hitter has multiple hits in four of his last five games.
Cleveland beat the Yankees 19-5 to remain a half game behind the Twins in the AL Central race.
Up next: Twins at Rangers, Friday at 7:10 p.m. The pitching matchup features a couple of All-Stars: Jake Odorizzi for the Twins and Mike Minor for the Rangers.
