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Rangers-Twins Preview

Sep 4, 2010 - 5:26 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Texas (75-58) at Minnesota (77-57), 4:10 p.m. EDT

The more the Texas Rangers lose at Target Field, the closer they get to ensuring they won't have home-field advantage in an AL division series.

The Rangers try for their first win in five tries at the Minnesota Twins' new ballpark as this three-game set continues Saturday.

Minnesota (78-57) leads Chicago by four games in the AL Central race, while there is no race in the West with Texas (75-59) up by nine games.

Since it's likely the winner of the powerful AL East will gain the top seed in the playoffs, these teams are vying for the No. 2 seed. The Twins increased their lead over the Rangers by 2 1/2 games after a 4-3 victory Friday, improving to 4-0 versus Texas at home.

The latest loss was especially frustrating since Minnesota was forced to give Triple-A callup Matt Fox his first major league start. Texas blew a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning when J.J. Hardy had a tying RBI single and Denard Span followed with an RBI single that put the Twins ahead for good.

"We got 'em over and got 'em in. That's the way you play the game," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We never gave into them and heck of a ballgame for us."

The Rangers will try to bounce back behind Colby Lewis (9-11, 3.56 ERA), who looks for his first win since July 16. Lewis fell to 0-6 with a 3.86 ERA in his last eight outings after allowing a season-high seven runs over 5 2-3 innings Sunday in an 8-2 home loss to Oakland.

The only victory for Texas in this poor stretch for Lewis came Aug. 24, when he gave up three runs over 6 1-3 innings in a 4-3 home win over Minnesota. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA in three career starts against the Twins, although second baseman Orlando Hudson is 6 for 10 against him.

Texas, though, may feel confident about beating Carl Pavano (15-10, 3.52), who is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five lifetime starts against them. He's 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two this year.

Pavano is trying to avoid losing four straight starts for the first time since Aug. 15-Sept. 6, 2001. He's posted a 5.57 ERA during this slide, allowing two runs over seven innings in a 2-1 loss at Seattle on Sunday.

Major league batting leader Josh Hamilton left Friday's game in the eighth inning with stiffness in his lower back. Hamilton - batting .362 - had missed the Rangers' last two games with a sore knee, and expects to play Saturday.

"I don't see it being a problem," Hamilton told the Rangers' official website. "I'll be good to go."

The Twins lost third baseman Danny Valencia in the seventh with a tight right hamstring. The team said he was pulled for precautionary reasons and is listed as day to day.

Minnesota has won 14 of 17 at home, and its bullpen has been outstanding with a 0.84 ERA over 10 2-3 innings in the four wins at Target Field against Texas.