Kirilloff homers and Twins get strong relief pitching to edge the skidding Rangers 3-2

MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Kirilloff hit a go-ahead home run in the fourth inning and Minnesota retired 15 of the last 16 hitters as the Twins edged the slumping Texas Rangers 3-2 on Friday night.

Carlos Correa, Christian Vázquez and Jose Miranda each had two hits for the Twins, who won their third straight since snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in the first, but the Rangers were blanked the rest of the way. Texas has lost 11 of its last 13 and has failed to score more than four runs in a game during the skid.

''You're not going to win a game unless you get a hit with men on base,'' Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. ''You can't just rely on the longball and we didn't get it tonight. Had them on the ropes a couple times, and that was missing. It's been this way since we started this struggle here that we're in right now.''

Bailey Ober (5-2) worked around early trouble to pick up the win. He gave up two runs and four hits, walked three, hit two batters and struck out five in five innings.

''It wasn't looking good through two innings,'' Twins bench coach Jace Tingler said. ''I think (Ober) was at 53, 54 pitches. And then for him to be able to battle through, put up zeroes, get us through five.''

Steven Okert, Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran each pitched a scoreless inning for the Twins. Duran, who had allowed a home run in each of his three previous outings, survived a two-out walk to earn his fifth save.

Kiriloff gave the Twins a 3-2 lead when he led off the fourth with a long home run to right. The ball was caught by a fan on the Target Field plaza 400 feet away – or roughly half the distance from home plate to Target Center, where Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals was about to tip off.

That erased a hot start by Texas. After Ober walked Marcus Semien to begin the game, Seager drove a first-pitch fastball to the berm in center field for his ninth homer and a quick 2-0 Rangers lead.

''As soon as that happens, it's like, all right, that's it, that's it, no more. They don't get any more," Ober said. ''It's kind of like this positive self-talk that you try to do, in the moment.''

Texas loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but Ober escaped the jam when he retired Adolis García on a grounder back to the mound.

The Twins tied it in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Vázquez and Edouard Julien's run-scoring groundout.

Rangers: Manager Bruce Bochy said RHP Nathan Eovaldi (groin) was ''close to pitching,'' but wasn't certain whether Eovaldi would need a rehab assignment or would return directly to the major league roster.

Twins: 3B Royce Lewis (quad) will begin a rehab assignment Saturday. Lewis, who was injured while running the bases on opening day, is expected to serve as DH for Triple-A St. Paul in its game at Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Rangers: RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 3.61 ERA) will take the mound against the Twins on Saturday searching for his first win since April 21. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his last six starts.

Twins: RHP Pablo López (4-4, 4.72) will try to bounce back from his worst start of the season, when he gave up seven earned runs in just five innings in a 12-3 loss to the Nationals on May 20.