(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota Twins kicked off a weekend series at home with a wild 12-2 win Friday night over the Texas Rangers. In a game that featured two Twins ejections in the 3rd and a bench clearing scuffle in the 4th, Minnesota’s bats were hot for much of the night.
Sonny Grey allowed one run in seven innings of work while the Twins scored four runs in the 1st, six runs in the 7th and two more runs in the 8th. Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa and Max Kepler all went deep for the Twins.
Joey Gallo and manager Rocco Baldelli were ejected in the 3rd after arguing over an inconsistent strike zone while Ryan Jeffers was hit by a pitch in the 3rd by Rangers starter Dane Dunning. Benches then cleared in the top of the 4th inning after Gray hit Mitch Garver with a pitch.
The Twins are averaging 5.3 runs per game, the second most in baseball, since returning from the All Star break and are currently atop the AL Central by six games over Cleveland. The Twins and Rangers face off again tonight at Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15pm.