Twins rout Rangers 12-2 in game that features ejections and benches clearing

On a night when the Twins had two ejections over disagreements with the strike zone and the benches cleared after two batters were plunked, the Twins put together one of their most complete games of the season.

Matt Wallner hit a three-run triple in the first inning. Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa homered in a six-run seventh inning. In between the big hits, Sonny Gray delivered one of his better starts of the year in a 12-2 rout over the reeling Rangers on Friday at Target Field.

"That," Gray said afterward, "was as much of a team win as you could have."

Call it a game that had a little bit of everything.

Rangers starting pitcher Dane Dunning issued four walks in the bottom of the first inning and had an opportunity to pitch out of it without giving up a run because of a double play. Wallner had different plans when he hammered a down-the-middle changeup into the right field corner for the first triple of his major league career.

Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI single that bounced over the first-base bag, giving the Twins a four-run lead during Dunning's 35-pitch first inning.

"We can have great at-bats and get on base, but the great swing is needed," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Wally gave that to us."

"It all started with their guy getting hit, the way he reacted," said Texas DH Mitch Garver, Jeffers' former Twins teammate. "First and third, we're not trying to hit someone intentionally to load up the bases for Joey Gallo. We don't care about what happened [Thursday] night. This wasn't about you."

In the next inning, Gray plunked Garver with a first-pitch fastball when there was nobody on base. Garver, who hit a solo homer in the second inning, stood in front of the plate to say something to Gray. Home-plate umpire Carlos Torres ran in front of Garver as Gray made a motion with his right hand. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though there were no physical altercations.

"I walked six batters today," Dunning said. "I had no idea where the ball was going. There was no intention to hit him. I think it's a little idiotic that he reacted the way he did and them coming back and retaliating."

Said Gray: "I was trying to throw a sinker in, trying to get another ground ball. Just went too far in."

Dunning lasted only four innings and finished with a career-high six walks, but the Twins felt Torres cost them a chance to add to their three-run lead. After back-to-back hits from Max Kepler and Royce Lewis in the third inning, Wallner visibly disagreed with a high fastball that turned into his called third strike. Following Jeffers' hit by pitch, Joey Gallo was called out on strikes.

Once the high temperatures cooled, it was all Gray. The Twins starting pitcher permitted one run in seven innings, matching his longest start of the season.

Gray received some help from his defense, including a diving stop by Correa in the fourth inning and a leaping catch at the wall by Wallner in the sixth inning.

"Our defense was absolutely incredible," Gray said.

The Twins turned the game into a laugher when they batted around their lineup in the seventh inning. Correa hit a no-doubter homer to left field, looking toward his teammates in the dugout as soon as he connected with the pitch. The rally continued with a two-out RBI single from Donovan Solano before Julien launched his 11th home run of the season to center field.