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It was a rough Monday night for Los Angeles Angels right fielder Josh Hamilton -- beyond his 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in a 10-8 loss in 19 innings to the Oakland A's.

Hamilton was "honored" with an unofficial Josh Hamilton Appreciation Night by A's fans in right field Monday night in a tribute to his drop of a routine fly ball in last year's final game of the regular season, helping Oakland steal the American League West crown from the Texas Rangers. The fan appreciation night was not sanctioned by the A's, instead organized by a fan on Twitter.

Fans tossed Butterfinger candy bars onto the field during batting practice. Hamilton actually picked one up and ate it, according to one report on MLB.com. He was applauded when his name was announced during the first inning and reportedly took the fans' tribute in stride.

Hamilton's problems at the plate get worse: Hamilton has 32 strikeouts in 25 games. His batting average dropped to .202 entering the final day of April. ESPN's Buster Olney takes an up-close look at Hamilton's hitting woes here .

Sitting atop the Rangers' wish list for this week's homestand against the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox -- getting the bat of third baseman Adrian Beltre going.

PODCAST
Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Yu Darvish, the Rangers' recent losses and if the notion that the team looked fatigued is warranted this early in the season. Listen

For whatever reason, Beltre isn't driving in runs this season. He has nine RBIs in 25 games. He had one RBI on the Rangers' seven-game road trip to Anaheim and Minnesota.

The eyeball test says Beltre is about to get hot. Beltre showed signs of life on the road trip, hitting in five straight games before joining the rest of the lineup and cooling down in losses Saturday and Sunday (he was 0-for-8 in those games). His home run in Friday's' game was a rocket to center field. He had only two strikeouts in 28 at-bats.

Beltre's numbers are down from the first 25 games last season when he batted .315 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. He's at .221 with four home runs so far this season. There's no discernible difference in his other numbers. He's walked more times this season -- eight -- compared to five through 25 games last season.

It goes without saying that he's struggled with runners on base. He has three hits in 28 at-bats with runners in scoring position. One positive -- he has been one of the Rangers' best hitters late in games, batting .391 with two homers and four RBIs in the seventh inning or later.

More good news: Beltre had 21 RBIs last May, tying for his best month of the season.

And, of course, all Rangers fans remember how he finished. He had 41 of his 102 RBIs last season in August and September (and one October regular season game).

More Rangers notes:

1. Lewis throws in game: Rehabbing right-hander Colby Lewis threw 17 pitches in one inning in an extended spring game Monday. He came out of the outing reporting no issues. Expect Lewis to get into another extended spring game in a few days.

2. Minor note: Class A Hickory outfielder Nick Williams, whose seven home runs are second to teammate Joey Gallo's eight in the Sally League, went on the 7-day disabled list with a shoulder injury this weekend. Williams, a second-round pick last year, landed awkwardly on his shoulder diving for a ball. The injury isn't considered to be serious.

3. Angels, A's go 19: It's April, so maybe it's too early to scoreboard watch. But that's just impossible with the state of affairs with Josh Hamilton and the Angels. Division rival Oakland delivered the latest blow to the Angels' psyche as Brandon Moss hit a walk-off home run in the 19th inning for a 10-8 A's victory. The game ended at 3:41 a.m. Texas time. The Angels led 7-2 going into the bottom of the eighth before giving up four runs in the inning and the tying run in the ninth. Hamilton was 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. The A's moved within two games of the Rangers while the Angels dropped seven games out of first place.

David Murphy's April struggles are nothing new. He has a career .228 batting average for the first month of the season (including a few regular season games in March).

The spotlight shines brighter on Murphy as the regular starter in left field. He is batting .176 as the Rangers get set for the final game in April on Tuesday at home against the Chicago White Sox.

Murphy is having his roughest first month since the 2010 season when he had six hits in 37 at-bats for a .162 batting average. He's never had more than two home runs in April. He has seven RBIs, half of his best April total of 14 in 2008.

Murphy started poorly this season and things haven't improved. He hasn't been above .200 since he was 1-for-3 in the opener against Houston. He was 3-for-24 on the Rangers' recent road trip to Anaheim and Minnesota.

This isn't about starting against left-handed pitching full time. Murphy is batting 57 points worse against right-handers. He enters Tuesday with a .155 batting average against righties; he's at .212 against lefties.

Some of it is bad luck. Murphy only has 15 strikeouts in 91 at-bats. He also has six walks, giving him a .295 on-base percentage.

Whatever is happening, the Rangers look for things to improve in May. Murphy faces a tough start to the month with two of the top left-handers in the American League, the White Sox's Chris Sale and the Red Sox's Jon Lester, set to pitch against the Rangers on this homestand.

The Rangers take a much needed day off Monday before a week filled with Sox -- the Chicago White Sox and then baseball's best team, at least record-wise, the Boston Red Sox.

A Rangers offense that went cold over the weekend and didn't hit with runners in scoring position on a road trip to Anaheim and Minnesota faces tough pitching matchups this week. They'll see Chicago's Chris Sale and Jake Peavy, and Boston's Jon Lester.

White Sox start slow: Chicago is 10-14 to start the season, 4 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Kansas City. The White Sox are 3-7 on the road, having been swept by Washington and Minnesota. The White Sox are last in the AL with a .229 batting average and 83 runs scored. They are fourth in the AL with a 3.60 ERA (the Rangers are first with a 3.02 ERA, and the Red Sox are third at 3.39).

Pierzynski faces old team: Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who played for the White Sox from 2005 to '12, faces his old team for the first time in the regular season since signing as a free agent with the Rangers. Pierzynski helped the White Sox win the 2007 World Series. He had a .364 batting average against the White Sox when he played for Minnesota from 1998 to 2004. That, of course, was a long time ago. Pierzynski has warmed up to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where he is batting .360 in seven home games.

Konerko moves up list: White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko hit his fourth home run of the season in Chicago's 8-3 loss to David Price and Tampa Bay. It was Konerko's 426th career home run, tying him with Billy Williams for 45th all time. Konerko has 14 RBIs but is batting only .235 with 19 strikeouts.

Red Sox rolling: The Red Sox finished off a four-game home sweep of the hapless Houston Astros to improve to 18-7, matching their best start since 2002. The Red Sox, who have Monday off, can set the club record for most victories in April with a win Tuesday against Toronto. Boston is getting lights-out pitching from its top three pitchers: Lester, Clay Buchholz and former Ranger Ryan Dempster, who are a combined 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA.

Ortiz back and hot: Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is back and is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He had two hits in Sunday's 7-2 victory over Houston, giving him a 20-game hitting streak dating to last year, the longest run going in the major leagues. Ortiz went 2-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his batting average to .516.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Texas Rangers did far more crediting of the Minnesota Twins pitching than they did their own fatigue after losing back-to-back games for the first time this season.

That said, they’re looking forward to their off day Monday.

Texas had just one day off since April 4, and 14 of their last 17 games have come on the road.

“You always look forward to off days,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “They certainly are precious when you play this many games.”

The Rangers did have a brief three-game respite in Arlington against Seattle from April 19 through 21, but it still was part of what’s been a hectic travel schedule.

After finishing a six-game homestand on April 10, Texas went to Seattle for four games before an off day, then to Chicago for three against the Cubs, then back home for the three against the Mariners, then to Los Angeles for three against the Angels, and finally to Minnesota for it’s just-completed four-game stretch.

As an added bonus, Wednesday’s game against Los Angeles was an evening contest, meaning the Rangers arrived just before 7 a.m. on Thursday for the series with the Twins, which started Thursday night.

“The off day is definitely needed right now,” manager Ron Washington said. “The stretch is what it is. It’s the schedule and you play the schedule. It’s the big leagues, so we can’t be complaining about the schedule.”

Monday is one of two book-end off days sandwiching three-game series against the Sox – first White, then Red. In all it means eight consecutive days at home for Texas to recharge before an eight-game, three-city road trip.

“It seems like we haven’t been home in forever with the way the schedule is set up,” Pierzynski said. “We were home 3 days and gone a month it seems like. It’ll be nice to get home, get an off day at home and relax, get away from baseball for a day. Just get back to hopefully a little bit of normalcy and come back ready to go on Tuesday.”

Now for a few more Rangers notes:

1. Darvish follows lose again: Yu Darvish will pitch for the fifth time in six starts following a Rangers' loss. He is 4-0 in that situation this season and 11-3 for his career.

2. Kinsler's next steal: Second baseman Ian Kinsler didn't steal a base Sunday, but his next one will be historical. His next stolen base with give him 161 for his career, tying him with Bump Wills for the all-time franchise record.

3. One streak over: The Rangers streak without consecutive losses ended this weekend in the Twin Cities. They still have either won or split every series so far this season. They've won five series and split three.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The two walks to Josh Willingham were costly, and the slider Justin Morneau tattooed into the right-field seats was a bad pitch, but the Texas Rangers can hardly blame Alexi Ogando for Sunday’s outcome.

He was just as effective as his teammates with the bat, and Ogando never even picked one up.

Texas was shut out for just the second time this season -- the first coming against the Tampa Bay Rays April 10 – leaving Ogando with a quality start but an 'L' next to his name in the box score for the second time in his past three outings.

“I thought Ogando threw the ball well,” manager Ron Washington said. “On most nights, what he gave us out there today, I’ll take it, and I think we’ll win some ballgames. Today wasn’t one of those days.”

Ogando tried to get a first-pitch slider over for strike one on Morneau with two outs and Texas leading 1-0 in the sixth inning but caught too much of the plate, and the Twins slugger didn’t miss it. Willingham was on first base after coaxing a two-out walk two innings after he walked and then scored on a sacrifice fly for the game’s first run.

“I was being too careful,” Ogando said through an interpreter about facing Willingham. “Too cautious.”

The 29 year old allowed three runs on four hits and two walks in six innings with three strikeouts. After giving up just two earned runs in his first three starts this season, Ogando has allowed 10 in his past three. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in that stretch.

Joe Ortiz was charged with Minnesota’s other two runs in the seventh inning, but it hardly mattered due to Kevin Correia.

The Twins right-hander ceded just six hits and a walk in eight innings as Minnesota shut out an opponent for the first time this season.

Mitch Moreland and Leonys Martin, finished with four of the Rangers’ seven hits as Texas tallied two or fewer runs for the third time in the series.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Texas Rangers were shut out for just the second time and lost back-to-back games for the first time this season as the Minnesota Twins won 5-0 on Sunday.

Walks will haunt: Rangers starter Alexi Ogando walked Josh Willingham twice Sunday, and Willingham scored both times. He was walked with one out in the fourth inning and came home on a Chris Parmelee sacrifice fly two batters later. Ogando walked Willingham with two outs in the sixth inning, but Justin Morneau hit his next offering into the right-field seats for a two-run homer.

Ogando still managed a quality start, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks in six innings with three strikeouts. After giving up just two earned runs in his first three starts this season, Ogando has allowed 10 in his past three. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in that stretch.

Still undefeated: The Rangers appeared poised to win their sixth series of the season by taking the first two against Minnesota but settled for a series split after losses Saturday and Sunday. Texas is still undefeated in series play this season with a 5-0-3 mark.

Runs at a premium: The Rangers scored two runs or less in three of their four games against Minnesota and just eight total in the four-game series. Their only lower series mark was six runs, but that was in a two-game set against the Chicago Cubs.

Texas went 0-for-5 Sunday and just 4-for-31 in the series with runners in scoring position.

Basepath blunders: Mitch Moreland continued a disturbing trend of Texas making outs on the basepaths. Moreland singled with one out in the third inning when Aaron Hicks misplayed his fly ball. But Moreland ran halfway to second base before turning around as Hicks recovered and threw to Brian Dozier. Dozier quickly relayed to Morneau, who tagged Moreland for the second out. Leonys Martin followed with a single, so instead of two on with one out, there was one on with two out. Ian Kinsler ended the inning with a groundout to second.

The Rangers made seven outs on the bases in the first three games against the Twins.

Solving Mauer: Twins catcher Joe Mauer entered the series with Texas hitting .366, but Rangers pitching held him to 0-for-15 in the four games to drop his average to .302.

Ortiz struggles: Joe Ortiz entered the series with a 1.42 ERA but saw that number jump to 4.05 after allowing four runs in two appearances (2/3 IP). The left-hander had allowed just two earned runs in his first eight outings.

Daydreaming: Sunday’s loss dropped the Rangers to 3-6 in day games this season. Texas is 13-3 at night.

Up next: The Rangers start a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox in Arlington as right-hander Yu Darvish (4-1, 1.65 ERA) takes the hill against Chicago left-hander Jose Quintana (2-0, 2.78 ERA) at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night on Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN 103.3 FM and 1540 AM.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nelson Cruz’s work with the bat has been impressive. But perhaps even more important has been his ability to stay on the field.

Cruz revamped his offseason routine prior to the 2012 season and it paid off as he played in a career-best 159 games. On Sunday, Cruz is in the lineup for the 25th time in 25 games this season -- one of only three Texas Rangers who can make the claim.

For Cruz, it’s simply a matter of understanding his body.

“You know what you need to do to prepare,” Cruz said. “Sometimes your body tells you you need to rest. You have to make sure you’re loose for the games, make sure you work out during the season, outside the season.”

Cruz said he’s extra diligent with his hamstring and quads, which conspired among other maladies to limit him to an average of 113 games from 2009 to 2011, with 128 games his career high until last season.

The resulting health has put Cruz in position to be among the league’s offensive leaders in several categories. His 19 RBI are tied for fifth in the American League, his five home runs are tied for 13th and his .322 batting average is good for 13th, as well.

And thanks to Cruz’s renewed focus on staying healthy, manager Ron Washington has been less tempted to pull him out of the lineup for maintenance days.

“He’s an animal, look at him,” Washington said. “At some point I’m going to give him a day off, but I got him a day DHing, and I’ll get him another day DHing. It’s just that he’s been productive, and sometimes it’s hard to pull that out of the lineup.”

Cruz is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in seven straight contests. Saturday’s game snapped a six-game RBI streak in which he drove in 13 runs.

Lineup staples: In addition to Cruz, Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland have been in the lineup every game this season. Moreland’s career high is 134 games played for the 2011 Rangers. Beltre has played in 152 or more games eight times in his career, including 156 for Texas last season. His career high of 159 games came for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002.

Elvis Andrus, David Murphy and Ian Kinsler have played in every game but one this season. Washington considered sitting Kinsler on Sunday, but the Rangers’ second baseman resisted with an off day scheduled for Tuesday.

Strikeout guy: Tuesday’s starter, Yu Darvish, leads all of baseball with 49 strikeouts this season. But he’s also topped seven innings just once and pitched six or fewer innings in three of his five starts.

It comes with the territory for strikeout pitchers, and Washington certainly isn’t complaining. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t mind seeing fewer pitches and longer outings from his right-hander.

“If you can strike out a guy out in a certain situation, I love a strikeout,” Washington said. “But you can be striking out 17 or 18 guys and you’re throwing a lot of pitches. All you have to do is throw one pitch and you can get a ground ball and get a guy out.”

But Darvish fans need not worry about Washington and the Rangers trying to tweak the 26-year-old’s approach.

“Yu’s a strikeout guy,” Washington said. “I’d like to see him get some quick outs, but I’m not going to try to change him. I’m saying that to me, saying that to the pitching coach. I’m not saying that to Yu Darvish.”

The Rangers send right-hander Alexi Ogando to the mound Sunday against Minnesota right-hander Kevin Correia in a 1:10 p.m. start at Target Field on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1540-AM. The Rangers will try to win their sixth series of the season.

Ogando (2-1, 3.12): Ogando makes his sixth start of the season, the most by any Rangers pitcher ... He will try to build off a solid outing in his previous start against the Los Angeles Angels ... Ogando allowed two earned runs in seven innings for his longest start of the season ... He survived an early error by first baseman Mitch Moreland that cost him two unearned runs ... Ogando also allowed a two-run home run to Howie Kendrick in the fourth inning to fall behind 4-0 ... This is Ogando's fifth road start in 2013 ... He is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA in his past eight road starts ... Ogando statistically is one of the Rangers' most efficient starters among pitchers with at least 250 innings with the lowest opponents on-base average at .285 ... Ogando will make his first start against the Twins, the only American League team he has never started against ... He has allowed one run in six relief innings against Minnesota with eight strikeouts and no walks ... He has 2⅔ shutout innings at Target Field.

Correia (2-1, 2.86): Correia has won two consecutive starts after beating Miami in the first game of a split day-night doubleheader Tuesday ... He allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings ... He had five strikeouts and walks ... Correia signed as a free agent with the Twins on Dec. 13, 2012 ... Correia doesn't beat him himself with four walks in 28⅓ innings ... Opponents are batting .264 against him ... Correia has pitched at least seven innings in all four of his starts ... He has made one start against the Rangers on June 27, 2009, allowing three runs on five hits in seven innings ... He had nine strikeouts to tie his career high.

Hitters: Adrian Beltre (4-for-10, 2 HRs, 2 RBIs) and Lance Berkman (3-for-11, 1 HR, 4 RBIs) have had success against Correia. The current Twins are 4-for-11 against Ogando with no home runs or RBIs.

Derek Holland gave the Texas Rangers another quality start, but the Minnesota Twins used a Josh Willingham two-run home run to pull away for a 7-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Target Field In Minneapolis.

Holland snakebit: Holland had his fourth quality start in five games this season, allowing three runs in seven innings. An unearned run put him behind 1-0 in the third inning. Willinhgam's homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth on a slider that stayed up the strike zone gave the Twins a 3-0 lead.

Offense stalled: The Rangers couldn't solve the riddle that was Twins left-hander Pedro Hernandez. Making his third career start, Hernandez had five shutout innings. He caught a big break in the top of the third when Ian Kinsler had a ground rule double on a ball that hopped over the left-center field fence. Leury Garcia, at first base after a single, would have scored easily. The Rangers still had runners at second and third and one out but Craig Gentry lined out to shortstop and Adrian Beltre to left field.

No clutch hits: The Rangers were 1-for-8 for the game with runners in scoring position and are now 4-for-25 for the series against Twins pitching.

Baserunning mishaps: The Rangers made three outs on the bases in Friday's 4-3 loss and made two more on Saturday. Craig Gentry was caught stealing in the first inning and Nelson Cruz was out trying to stretch a single into a double in the second inning.

Kirkman struggles: Reliever Michael Kirkman allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth. He allowed four hits, including the first extra base hit of the season for Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks.

Avoiding the shutout: The Rangers were nearly shutout for the second time this season, but Mitch Moreland's two-run double on a misplayed ball in center field by Hicks allowed the Rangers to cut the lead to 7-2. The only time the Rangers have been shutout was April 10 by Tampa Bay.

Up next: The Rangers try to win three out of four games from the Twins when right-hander Alexi Ogando (2-1, 3.12 ERA) faces Minnesota right-hander Kevin Correia (2-1, 2.86 ERA) at 1:10 p.m. Sunday afternoon on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1540-AM.

The Rangers go for their fourth straight victory Saturday afternoon at Minnesota's Target Field when left-hander Derek Holland faces Twins left-hander Pedro Hernandez at 3:10 p.m. on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1270-AM.

Holland (1-1, 3.25): Holland comes in off of his first rough outing of the season, when he allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Los Angeles Angels ... He had allowed four runs in his first three starts ... Holland was hurt by control issues with four walks ... He still made it to the sixth inning with the score tied before he allowed three runs, two of them scoring on a two-run single by Angels third baseman Luis Jimenez off of Rangers reliever Jason Frasor ... Holland has put up some important numbers including not allowing a home run in his last three starts, matching his longest career streak ... He allowed 32 last season ... This is his third consecutive road start ... Holland allowed two hits in seven innings at the Chicago Cubs on April 16 ... He is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven career starts vs. the Twins ... He is 0-2 with a 6.75 at Minnesota's Target Field.

Hernandez (0-0, 3.86): The Twins' fifth starter makes only his second start, with all of Minnesota's postponed games eliminating the need for his turn in the rotation ... The 24-year-old left-hander allowed three runs in five innings against Baltimore on April 7 ... He had three strikeouts and three walks ... That was the second career start for Hernandez ... He's pitched out of the bullpen twice since his start against the Orioles ... He threw a scoreless inning against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday ... He will make his first appearance against the Rangers ... Hernandez is 0-1 with a 7.53 ERA in four career appearances in the big leagues ... His best pitch is his change-up which he can throw for strikes ... He also throws a 87-90 mph four-seam fastball and he mixes in a sinker.

Hitters: Josh Willingham (3-for-11, 1 HR, 1 RBI) has had some success against Holland. Twins catcher Joe Mauer (3-for-14, 2 RBIs) hasn't fared as well. The Rangers have never faced Hernandez.

Right-handed hitting Jeff Baker is expected to return Saturday from a sore knee and may be the starter at first base against Minnesota left-hander Pedro Hernandez.

But if Mitch Moreland starts again Saturday against a lefty, he'll be confident against Hernandez.

Moreland had two doubles in three at-bats Friday against Twins lefty Scott Diamond, helping the Rangers to a 4-3 victory over Minnesota. The left-handed hitting Moreland had a double in the second inning and another one to lead off the seventh.

Moreland has five hits now in 30 at-bats against left-handers and is 4 for his last 12 at-bats. He fell behind 0-2 to Diamond in the second inning and ripped an 88 mph fastball for a double to the opposite field. Moreland, whose approach is to grind out at-bats, had a leadoff double against Diamond in the seventh inning as he grinded out an at-bat and hit another fastball down the right-field line for a double.

It's a small sample for Moreland -- just like the first 18 at-bats were -- and Baker's .364 batting average against lefties so far makes it difficult not to play him. But the panic about Moreland vs. lefties can be tempered.

Some other Rangers' note going into Saturday afternoon:

1. Grimm's first inning: Justin Grimm's ability to work his way out of the first inning keyed his entire outing Friday night. The rookie right-hander was able to work around an Ian Kinsler error that would have been the second out of the inning. Josh Willingham's double to left field put runners at second and third. Grimm was able to wiggle his way out of the inning, using a fastball to get Chris Parmelee to fly out to right field.

2. Staying aggressive: The Rangers are an aggressive baserunning team under Ron Washington. That's one of their trademarks. But they have to be smart too. The Rangers made two outs at home plate Friday night with no outs at the time. Elvis Andrus's risky move to go home on a throw that got away from Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe wasn't worth, not with Adrian Beltre coming up.

3. Little Joe: Washington must be careful in not pitching rookie reliever Joe Ortiz too much. Opponents have been hitting Ortiz this week. He allowed two hits to start the ninth inning Friday with the Rangers leading 4-0, forcing Washington to go to closer Joe Nathan in a save-situation. Ortiz has five straight outings where's he allowed a hit and two straight where he's given up runs.

The Texas Rangers witnessed another great outing by one of their young starting pitchers -- this time Justin Grimm -- as they won their second straight game over the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, on Friday night at Target Field.

Grimm cruises: Grimm followed up on fellow rookie Nick Tepesch's brilliant start on Thursday night with seven shutout innings. Following Tepesch's lead, Grimm had total command of the strike zone with no walks. He allowed five hits and had four strikeouts. Grimm has two walks in his past 13 innings.

First-inning runs: The Rangers jumped on the Twins with three first-inning doubles that helped build a 2-0 lead. Elvis Andrus had a one-out double, stole third and scored on Lance Berkman's double to center field. Nelson Cruz made it six straight games with an RBI as he went to the opposite field once again with a double to right field.

Cruz stays hot: Cruz is the third player boasting six straight games with an RBI this season in the majors, joining the Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder and the Cincinnati Reds' Todd Frazier. It ties a career high that he's accomplished four times.

Beltre hammers another one: Adrian Beltre is starting to hit the ball with authority. He crushed a home run to straightaway center field to give Texas a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. Beltre has seven hits in his past 24 at-bats, including two of his four home runs.

Outs on the bases: The Rangers made three outs on the bases as they didn't get as much out of their 13 hits as they could have. They made two outs on the bases in the third inning, as Andrus was thrown out at home and Berkman got hung up and was out at third base for the second out of the inning.

Rough ninth: Left-hander Joe Ortiz started the bottom of the ninth with a four-run lead and allowed a double to Josh Willingham and a soft single to Justin Morneau. Ortiz did strike out Chris Parmelee for the first out and turned the game over to closer Joe Nathan. He got the second out, fanning Trevor Plouffe, then allowed a three-run homer to Oswaldo Arcia to make things interesting. Nathan was able to bounce back and get Ryan Doumit to line out to center fielder Craig Gentry to end the game.

What scheduling issue?: The Rangers were supposed to be sluggish in the second game after a late plane flight from Anaheim to Minneapolis, but they haven't shown it in this series, winning two one-run games.

Up next: The Rangers go for three wins in a row over the Twins when left-hander Derek Holland (1-1, 3.25 ERA) takes on Minnesota left-hander Pedro Hernandez (0-0, 3.86 ERA) at 3:10 p.m. Saturday on FSSW and ESPN-FM 103.3 and 1270-AM.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two starters both coming off their first win of the season will square off as the Texas Rangers’ Justin Grimm opposes the Minnesota Twins’ Scott Diamond. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. CT on TXA21 and ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM, with the Spanish broadcast on 1540 AM.

Justin Grimm (1-0, 2.70 ERA): Grimm, 24, struck out a career-high nine batters his last time out and walked just one en route to earning his second career win in Texas’ 11-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. … The right-hander allowed two runs -- one earned -- while logging six innings for just the second time in his brief major league tenure. … Sunday’s win was Grimm’s first since his major league debut, when he pitched six innings of three-run ball in the Rangers’ 8-3 victory over the Houston Astros on June 16, 2012. … Friday will mark Grimm’s first appearance at Target Field and just his third appearance against an American League Central opponent. Grimm went 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA in two outings (one start) versus the AL Central in 2012.

Scott Diamond (1-1, 4.35 ERA): The 26-year-old left-hander will face Texas for the second time in his career. Diamond was ejected in the third inning of his previous outing versus the Rangers on Aug. 24, 2012, for throwing a pitch behind the head of Josh Hamilton. Texas starter Roy Oswalt hit Twins catcher Joe Mauer in the back in the preceding half-inning. … Diamond got off to a late start this spring after offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his left elbow, and began the season on the disabled list. … He allowed two runs -- one earned -- in six innings against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, striking out five. Diamond has five or more strikeouts in a game just eight times in 36 career starts. … He was a pleasant surprise for Minnesota last season, finishing 12-9 with a 3.54 ERA.

Hitters: Eduardo Escobar (1-for-2) is the only Twins hitter with at-bats against Grimm. Current Rangers are a combined 5-for-17 with a walk against Diamond, including doubles from A.J. Pierzynski and Geovany Soto.

Up Next:

Saturday at Minnesota: LHP Derek Holland (1-1, 3.25) vs. Pedro Hernandez (0-0, 3.86), 3:10 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM/Fox Sports Southwest

Sunday at Minnesota: RHP Alexi Ogando (2-1, 3.12) vs. RHP Kevin Correia (2-1, 2.86), 1:10 p.m. CT, ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540 AM/Fox Sports Southwest

STOCK UP

Nick Tepesch: What can you say about rookie right-hander Nick Tepesch. All he's done so far is throw strikes. He hasn't walked anyone since three free passes in the second inning of his debut April 9 against Tampa Bay. Since then he's gone 19 innings without a walk. He's reached double-digits in ground ball outs in his three starts other than the one last Saturday when Tepesch left in the second inning after getting hit on the wrist by a line drive.

Nelson Cruz: Cruz became the third player in Rangers history with three home runs in four days that were either 3-run homers or grand slams. Cruz had two 3-run homers against the Angels on Tuesday and Wednesday and a grand slam against Seattle on Sunday. Jeff Burroughs had three 3-run home runs April 29 and May 1-2, 1976. Larry Parrish had two grand slams and a 3-run homer in July 1982.

Big innings: The Rangers were the last team to score four or more runs in an inning. They're making up for it now. The latest outburst was Wednesday's 9-run fourth inning against the Angels. The Rangers went on to win 11-3. It was the most runs the Rangers have scored in a road inning since Aug. 22, 2007 in Baltimore when they scored 30 runs and won 30-3.

STOCK DOWN

The schedule maker: The Rangers were forced to travel two time zones to Minneapolis because of a night game Wednesday night in Anaheim, arriving at their hotel at 6:30 a.m. It would have been kind of the Angels to play a day game, but the Halos protected their home gate with a night game instead. The Rangers responded by winning 2-1 Thursday night. Coaches and players have long said it's the second game after a morning arrival that impacts their energy the most.

Mitch Moreland: Mitch Moreland has seven hits in his last 23 at-bats as he rebounds from a tough start. But he's still struggling against left-handed pitching. Moreland has three hits in 27 at-bats with one RBI against lefties. A healthy Jeff Baker could take away playing time, starting Friday night against Twins left-hander Scott Diamond.

Joakim Soria: Soria's return to the big leagues after Tommy John surgery won't happen until June because of a strained pectoral muscle. The Rangers' bullpen has been stellar so far, but Soria is expected to be an important addition when he makes it back.