• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Kubel, Hunter lead Twins past Rangers

Sep 19, 2007 - 5:52 AM By Anthony Maggio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Jason Kubel had three hits and scored three times and Torii Hunter drove in a pair of runs as the Minnesota Twins topped the Texas Rangers, 4-2, on Tuesday.

Kubel also reached base on shortstop Michael Young's error, his second of three in the game, which led to two unearned runs for the Twins in the third inning.

Joe Mauer added an RBI double and Carlos Silva (12-14) lasted six innings for the win, sending the Rangers to their seventh loss in eight games. Minnesota will go for the three-game sweep on Wednesday.

"Thank God we were able to make that double play (to end the sixth inning) and to finish like that, something nice to remember," Silva said. "Maybe people won't remember the crazy stuff I did here."

Young's rough night started when Nick Punto led off the third inning with a single and went to second on the error.

"That first one doesn't bother me as much, it was a tough play and I'll never put that ball in my pocket, I'll try to make that play every time," Young said. "The next two, those were just flat out routine plays that I didn't make. That doesn't make me very happy at all."

Jason Bartlett was able to reach first on a fielder's choice ground ball and came around to score when Young threw away Kubel's grounder to shortstop in the next at-bat. Hunter drove in Kubel with a single two batters later to give the Twins the lead at 2-1, one they would not relinquish.

"To pretty much give the other team two runs because of mistakes on defense is pretty frustrating," Young said.

"He just had a rough night," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "You hit those at him 99 more times and he'll make every single one of them. Sometimes in this game you just have those type of nights."

Kubel doubled and scored on Mauer's double in the fifth inning, then doubled again in the seventh, and came home on Hunter's second RBI single of the game. Hunter's two RBI upped his season total to 104, a new career high.

"The last couple months I've had a good swing, a good feeling going," Kubel said. "I'm just trying to keep that going."

Silva, pitching for the first time since leaving his last start on September 12 after two innings because of a pulled groin, allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings to win for the third time in his last nine starts.

His performance was punctuated by a tense sixth inning that ended with a nifty double-play to keep the Twins ahead by a run.

After retiring eight of nine batters heading into the sixth, Silva gave up a single to Marlon Byrd and a deep fly ball to Hank Blalock that hit the top of the wall in center field for a double.

Jason Botts struck out and David Murphy then walked to load the bases. Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined a single to right field to bring home Byrd and ninth hitter Travis Metcalf followed with a ground ball up the middle. But shortstop Jason Bartlett played the ball behind second base and flipped it to Nick Punto, who made a barehanded catch and fired a rope to first to beat Metcalf by a half step.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined a single to right field to bring home Byrd and ninth hitter Travis Metcalf followed with a ground ball up the middle. But Jason Bartlett played the ball behind second base and flipped it to Nick Punto, who made a barehanded catch a fired a rope to first to beat Metcalf by a half step.

A night after giving up a home run but earning the win, closer Joe Nathan worked a scoreless ninth to pick up his 33rd save in 37 chances.

"The bullpen did a great job," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Some of these young men are going to have to step up in a bullpen and tonight was a night they got it done the best they could against a good offensive team."

Rangers starter Kevin Millwood (9-13) bounced back from a rough outing against Oakland in his last start, but was done no favors by his defense. Millwood gave up four runs - two earned - on 10 hits with two walks in 6 2/3 innings for his second consecutive loss and fourth in his last five decisions.

Ian Kinsler drove in Metcalf with a groundout in the third inning and Botts had two singles for Texas, which lost its third in a row and sixth time in eight games vs. Minnesota this season.