MINNEAPOLIS — A day after the Texas Rangers lost Josh Jung to a broken right hand, the bottom four spots in their lineup combined to go 7-for-15 with 1 walk and 4 RBIs in a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday at Target Field. The win sent the American League West race to Game 162.
Jung went on the 10-day injured list Saturday after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning of Friday’s 10-2 loss. Joc Pederson fractured his left hand earlier this month, leaving Texas without its two most productive hitters for the final weekend.
Skip Schumaker Asked Who Would Step Up For Two Days
Before Saturday’s game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged it would sound callous to ask the rest of the roster to move on as quickly as the schedule demanded.
“It’s OK to be emotional at the time,” Schumaker said. “You can feel some emotion behind losing your one- and three-hole hitters. But the reality is, [there are] two games left. As terrible as this is to say, you have to move on as fast as you can. It’s callous. I get it. But next man up. Guys have to step up when guys get hurt. Who is going to step up for two days?”
Nicky Lopez, Danny Jansen, Evan Carter, and Alejandro Osuna answered in the second inning. After Twins starter Bailey Ober struck out the first two batters, the sixth through ninth hitters went 4-for-4. Lopez doubled, Jansen dropped in a bloop RBI single, and Carter and Osuna doubled. Leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo followed with a third straight double to make it 4-1. The four doubles were the most for the Rangers in a single inning since May 2, 2009, against the Chicago White Sox.
Jansen led off the fourth with a 398-foot home run to left and finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Carter and Osuna each had 2 hits and an RBI. Substitutes Cody Freeman and Justin Foscue also batted in the bottom four spots after Lopez left with a left ankle and heel injury. Cleanup hitter Jake Burger added his team-leading 28th home run in the fifth, and all nine Texas starters recorded a hit. It was the fourth time this season, and the second time in September, the Rangers have done that.
Danny Jansen, Skip Schumaker On Passing The Baton
Jansen said the Rangers wanted to put pressure on the Twins early, and that the second inning was good at-bat after good at-bat from hitters who knew what the moment was.
“It’s gonna take all of us,” Jansen said. “We showed that we’re willing to do small ball and all that stuff too. That’s part of our identity. And it’s going to take one through nine. It was pretty cool to have the bottom show up tonight. We just pride ourselves on trying to pass the baton to each other and keep the line moving.”
After the game, Schumaker said some players may feel extra pressure because they want so badly to be the one who replaces Jung or Pederson for their teammates.
“That’s what we’re asking for,” Schumaker said. “There’s a lot of guys that want to be the guy, and maybe there’s a little bit of pressure on them because of wanting to be the guy so bad for their teammates. That’s totally fair. But that’s why I keep saying it’s the collective. It’s the nine guys that have to do this thing together. You just can’t focus on just one guy. If we’re focusing on one guy that’s replacing JJ or replacing Joc, it’s not going to work.”
Texas is running back the same lineup for Sunday’s finale at 2:10 p.m. CT, with Lopez at second base and batting sixth. The Rangers need a win and a Houston Astros loss to the Athletics to win the AL West.
