Martinez, Rangers ransacked as Twins show wild-card hand

The Texas Rangers had built a reputation for not only playing well on the road through the first half of the season but also playing well against quality teams.

With wild-card berths in play, neither aspect has shown up much against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

The Twins jumped on starter Nick Martinez early and often through the first 3 2/3 innings, including a leadoff homer by Aaron Hicks in the first, and pulled away for a deflating 11-1 loss for the Rangers.

A pair of homers by rookie Miguel Sano, including a three-run shot to the upper deck in left, put the Twins comfortably up 7-0 in the fourth. Sano’s homer in the fourth came after Elvis Andrus’ two-out fielding error on a slow roller behind second.

“It’s not really what we’re looking for this time of year, a team we really need to play well against,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “This one is not typical, but they do happen, but really we don’t need [this kind of game] at this time of year.”

Martinez was replaced a batter later by Anthony Bass, who didn’t fare much better. Minnesota, which moved a full game and a half ahead of the Rangers in the wild-card standings, continued its hit barrage.

The Twins added four more runs in the fifth to take an 11-0 lead. The Rangers finally got on the board with a run in the sixth, after Delino DeShields doubled with two outs and scored on Prince Fielder’s single to left.

Texas finished with five hits. Minnesota had 18 hits, including 11 against Martinez, who dropped to 7-7. It’s his shortest outing since going 3 1/3 on June 3 against the White Sox.

The losses, three in a row and four of the last five games, are even more disheartening for Rangers fans when you factor in the current struggles by the American League West-leading Astros and second-place Angels.

The Rangers have failed to take advantage and have either stayed stagnant or dropped further behind in the division and in the wild-card races.

Twins starter Mike Pelfrey kept the Rangers baffled at the plate through much of seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk.

“He was tough,” Banister said. “A veteran pitcher who has been around. You give him the lead he got tonight he’s going to make it tough on you and that he did. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”

The teams conclude the series at 12:10 p.m. today with Chi Chi Gonzalez starting for the Rangers against right-hander Ervin Santana.

This story was originally published August 12, 2015 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Martinez, Rangers ransacked as Twins show wild-card hand."