Eddie Rosario (the other rookie) stars as Twins end five-game skid

ARLINGTON, Texas – Now we know why Byron Buxton is here. He's going to show the Twins how triples are supposed to work.

Buxton, who leads professional baseball with 12 triples at Class AA Chattanooga, went 0-for-4 in his major league debut Sunday, striking out twice. But with him in the dugout as inspiration, the Twins clubbed four triples against the Rangers, including three in one inning for the first time in franchise history.

But it was the other rookie outfielder in the Twins lineup, right fielder Eddie Rosario, who delivered the game's biggest hit. With two out in the ninth inning and Buxton on first base after a failed sacrifice attempt, Rosario cracked a 2-0 changeup from Shawn Tolleson into the right-center gap, a double that easily drove Buxton home and delivered a 4-3 victory that ended the Twins' five-game losing streak.

"It's a day I'll cherish forever," Buxton said, "especially [scoring] the winning run."

While he was soaking in the major league atmosphere, his teammates were cherishing their first win in a week, a victory that moves them within 1 ½ games of first place in the AL Central and at least gives them some positive energy as they prepare for four games with baseball's best team, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins had not beaten a team with a winning record since May 20 in Pittsburgh, so "we were sparked just from the need to win a ballgame," said starter Phil Hughes, who gave up three runs over six innings. "Any time we've gone on a little slide, we've dug deep to get it back."

They dug deep for their hits, too. Nine of the Twins' 11 hits went for extra bases, a season high, and it started right from the first batter. Brian Dozier led off the game with a home run to center, his 13th of the season and the 10th leadoff homer of his career.

Then, after the Rangers entertained their crowd with a pair of mammoth home runs from Joey Gallo and Leonys Martin, came the triples. Shane Robinson, who never has collected more than one triple in an entire season, tripled twice, yet never scored. Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar did it once apiece, as all three Rangers outfielders made a habit of diving for sinking liners just out of their reach. Texas left fielder Delino DeShields even injured himself trying to catch Escobar's, and had to leave the game.

Now the bad news: The triple-fest produced only one run, even during the trip-trip sixth inning. No major league team ever has scored so little in a three-triple inning, at least in the past 50 years, according to Elias Sports Bureau. "We had some opportunities to score a little more," Molitor understated.

Problem was, after Robinson's second triple of the game drove home Nunez with the tying run, Molitor decided to try to surprise the Rangers with a squeeze bunt. He flashed the sign, but Escobar never saw it.

"We haven't been getting them in too often. I was looking to try to get something going there," Molitor said. "We just didn't get the sign," and Robinson, who moved a little too close to the plate anticipating the bunt, was thrown out trying to get back to third. Escobar then promptly tripled, too, but was stranded on third when Buxton struck out.

Buxton was the culprit on a bad bunt, too, but it worked out in the end. After Escobar led off the ninth with a double off Shawn Tolleson, Molitor ordered Buxton to lay down a sacrifice, something he hasn't done successfully since 2013 at Class A Cedar Rapids. Buxton bunted it too hard, and Tolleson threw Escobar out at third.

It didn't matter, though, once Rosario, 0-for-4 to that point, stepped to the plate. He took two balls, as Tolleson focused on keeping Buxton at first, then whacked a changeup into the gap. Texas had no chance to throw out the speedy Buxton, who came around to restore the Twins' lead.

"Buxton kind of pressured that guy from first base," Molitor said. "Sometimes that can lead to a mistake."

And sometimes, it can lead to a much-needed victory.