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Rangers score 20, crush Twins

Jul 26, 2011 - 6:49 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers must have felt like they were hitting off a tee for the duration of Monday's contest. They scored in every inning except the sixth and the eighth and logged 27 hits, the most in the majors this season, in a 20-6 pounding of the Minnesota Twins.

Ian Kinsler led the offensive barrage, smacking a home run and a double among his four hits and four RBI. Michael Young belted a home run and finished with three RBI while Josh Hamilton and Endy Chavez also drove in three runs.

Nelson Cruz had four hits and knocked in two runs, and Omar Quintanilla ripped a triple to contribute to the batting clinic for the Rangers, who had seven of their starting nine finish with at least three hits in the opener of this three-game series.

"We came out with a lot of energy but you never expect to have a game go this way," Young said. "When you have a game like this you need to remind yourself what it's like to be on the other end."

The AL West leaders have won 15 of their last 18 games. Amazingly, the Rangers were shut out in their previous game on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 20 runs are the most scored by the Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Derek Holland (9-4) went six innings in the blowout, giving up one run on six hits while fanning four and not issuing a walk.

Michael Cuddyer collected one hit and came on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning for Minnesota, becoming the first position player to pitch in a Twins uniform since John Moses in 1990.

"I've been lobbying for years," Cuddyer said of his chance to pitch. "Obviously the circumstances weren't fun, but it was fun being out there."

Jason Kubel smacked a home run and Trevor Plouffe added an RBI double for the Twins, who have dropped four of their last five contests.

Nick Blackburn (7-7) was shelled in 2 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs -- six earned -- on 11 hits.

Texas plated three runs in its first at-bat and pummeled Minnesota from then on. Elvis Andrus reached with an infield single and Hamilton smacked a double to left for an RBI. Young followed with a deep drive over the wall in right for a 3-0 lead.

Minnesota threatened in the second. Cuddyer and Kubel slapped back-to-back singles to give the Twins men on first and second with no outs. Cuddyer then advanced to third on a Danny Valencia fly out, but Holland escaped trouble by getting Delmon Young to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Chavez singled to lead off the Rangers second inning and came around to score on a double by Kinsler, who advanced to third on a wild throw. One out later, Hamilton laced an RBI double and Young smacked a single to cap the scoring in the frame and give the Rangers a 6-0 advantage.

Texas extended its lead to 9-0 in the third when Kinsler launched his 16th home run into the bleachers in left field.

Minnesota got on the board in the fourth when Alexi Casilla scored on Cuddyer's double-play groundout, but the Rangers added five more runs in the bottom half, highlighted by a Mitch Moreland two-run double.

Texas added another four runs in the fifth to push its lead to 18-1 on a two- run single by Chavez and a two-run double from Andrus.

Minnesota picked up a second run when Tsuyoshi Nishioka reached on an error by Chris Davis which allowed Valencia to score.

Texas added two more on a triple by Quintanilla and a double by Cruz, giving the Rangers a 20-2 lead.

The Twins got three back in the eighth on a two-run shot by Kubel and an RBI double by Plouffe. Minnesota scored its final run in the ninth when Cuddyer reached on an error by Rangers closer Neftali Feliz, allowing Jason Repko to score.

Game Notes

Texas is 3-1 on its current seven-game homestand...Young's home run in the opening inning was his ninth of the season...This is the 51st game this season in which the Rangers finished with 10 or more hits...Valencia hit his 20th double of the season in the eighth inning....Texas collected 43 total bases, the highest total in the majors this season...It was Young's 17th three-hit game of the season...20 runs is the third highest single-game total in Rangers franchise history...Texas scored at least 10 runs for the 12th time this season...Texas' seven players with at least three hits established a new club record, the previous high was six players in a 30-3 romp over the Baltimore Orioles on August 22, 2007.