ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Yohander Mendez earned his first major league win and Nomar Mazara hit two of the Texas Rangers’ six homers in an 18-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
Mendez (1-1) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out two in six scoreless innings. He was making his second major league start in a season when he was a combined 2-10 with the Rangers’ top three farm teams.
Mazara hit a two-run homer in a nine-run sixth inning and a solo homer in a five-run eighth as the Rangers pounded 12 extra-base hits, tying a team record set in 1986. Texas last hit six homers in a game on April 17, 2012, at Boston.
Twenty-three-year-old Gabriel Moya, 11 days older than Venezuelan countryman Mendez, made his first major league start after compiling a 3-0 record in 24 relief outings.
Moya was scheduled to pitch only an inning or two as an opener for Zack Littell, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Moya made it through one inning, allowing a two-run homer by Elvis Andrus.
Littell pitched into the sixth, when Robinson Chirinos homered to ignite the big inning. Shin-Soo Choo followed with a run-scoring double, Minnesota first baseman Chris Gimenez committed a two-run error and Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar homered.
Profar’s homer came with Adrian Beltre on first after he was the third Ranger hit by a pitch, which led plate umpire Alan Porter to eject Matt Belisle.
Porter also ejected Minnesota pitcher Addison Reed for an argument after the eighth.
The nine runs were the most scored in an inning by Texas since a 10-run third against the Yankees in 2015. Minnesota used four pitchers in the inning.
Mazara hit four homers in the three-game series, at least one in each game. Jake Cave nearly matched Mazara when he hit his third homer in three games into the right-field seats in the eighth inning against Eddie Butler, who finished the game for his second save.
Gimenez moved from first to the mound in the ninth and allowed five runs, including homers by Mazara and Drew Robinson. Gimenez himself hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Eddie Rosario (right quadriceps) is ”just progressing, getting treatment, he’s not ready to get on the field,” manager Paul Molitor said.
Rangers: OF Delino DeShields (fractured right middle finger) came off the disabled list on Saturday. He entered that night’s game as a defensive replacement and was used as a pinch runner on Sunday. Manager Jeff Banister said nothing physical was keeping DeShields from starting.
UP NEXT
Twins: On Monday, RHP Kyle Gibson (7-11, 3.79) will start the first in a three-game series at Houston against Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel (10-10, 3.58).
Rangers: LHP Jeffrey Springs (0-0, 2.55) will come out of the bullpen to start ahead of RHP Ariel Jurado (2-4, 6.69) in Monday’s first of three home games against the Angels. Los Angeles’s starter, RHP Matt Shoemaker (1-0, 4.76), is coming back from arm surgery and hasn’t pitched in the majors since March.
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