Josh Smith, Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford went deep in the first two innings and the Texas Rangers hit a season-high six home runs in a 16-3 romp over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. If you're scoring at home - that's two losses in a three game series where the Twins gave up 16 runs.
The Rangers beat Minnesota 16-4 on Tuesday night with a Twins win sandwiched in the middle. To say the pitching was down is a big understatement. Starter Bailey Ober struggled Thursday as the Twins have now lost five of their last seven games.
Ober (4-3) allowed seven earned runs and walked a career-high six in 4 2-3 innings. He gave up a career-high four homers.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli isn't panicking though. He says it's a long season, so don't get too hung up on the results of one series.
"I mean there are a lot of ups and downs in this game, that we know," Baldelli says. "We know that. We know that's the case."
Still, Baldelli knows they need to play better - and definitely pitch better - especially with injuries to starters Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews.
"I wouldn't call it great baseball this series," he said. "It wasn't pretty. We were out of some games pretty early, but we have to get over that. I mean, that's not something that I'm gonna be sitting around thinking about going forward. Sometimes you gotta find a way. Once you're in these situations, you gotta find a way to get through the game, get ready for the next game, go play."
After a good start to the year, Ober has taken a nosedive the last two starts and says he's been dealing with some "hip stuff," hinting at a bit of an injury he's battling through. But he says despite the other injuries to the staff, he thinks he'll be fine.
"Just because I was dealing with this stuff before they got hurt, so it's not necessarily anything new," Ober said. "Just kind of go out there, and I was able to pitch well with dealing with stuff this year, so got to get back to doing that and staying on the attack. And try not to focus and dwell on what's happened in the past and just move forward and get ready for the next start."
Twins swing a trade
The Minnesota Twins dealt struggling reliever Jorge Alcala to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday in exchange for minor leaguer Andy Lugo.
The 29-year-old Alcala (0-2) has an 8.88 ERA in 22 appearances for the Twins this year. His final outing with Minnesota came Tuesday when he gave up five runs — four earned — in a 16-4 loss to Texas.
Alcala debuted with the Twins in 2019 and pitched in a career-high 59 games in 2021. After finishing the 2024 season with a 3.24 ERA in 54 relief appearances, he had five games this season in which he allowed at least three runs out of the bullpen.
Lugo, 21, was batting .265 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 44 games for High-A Greenville. He has played both the infield and outfield during his minor league tenure but has spent most of the 2025 season in the infield. He made 21 starts at first base and 16 at third base.
To make room for Alcala on its 40-man roster, Boston designated right-handed pitcher Brian Van Belle for assignment. Van Belle had not yet appeared in a major league game for the Red Sox this season after he was selected to the active roster on June 9.
Left-hander Joey Wentz will take Alcala's spot on Minnesota's 26-man roster. The Twins claimed Wentz off waivers from Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
Minnesota Twins (36-32, second in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (38-30, first in the AL West)
Houston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. CT. Pregame 6:30 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy app (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Chris Paddack (2-5, 3.53 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 52 strikeouts); Astros: Colton Gordon (1-1, 5.11 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 25 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -120, Twins +100; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros host the Minnesota Twins on Friday to begin a three-game series.
Houston has a 24-13 record in home games and a 38-30 record overall. Astros hitters have a collective .392 slugging percentage to rank eighth in the AL.
Minnesota is 36-32 overall and 16-20 on the road. The Twins have a 26-7 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
Friday's game is the fourth meeting between these teams this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jeremy Pena has 14 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 33 RBIs for the Astros. Isaac Paredes is 9 for 37 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games.
Byron Buxton has eight doubles, three triples and 11 home runs while hitting .276 for the Twins. Matt Wallner is 7 for 33 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .248 batting average, 2.22 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Twins: 5-5, .274 batting average, 6.78 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
INJURIES: Astros: Isaac Paredes: day-to-day (hamstring), Chas McCormick: 10-Day IL (oblique), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (hand), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee)
Twins: Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Zebby Matthews: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm), Michael Tonkin: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.