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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Butch Huskey waited for just the right moment, then headed home in an all-out sprint.
Huskey scored from second as teammate Denny Hocking was caught
in a rundown in the ninth inning, lifting the Minnesota Twins over
the Texas Rangers 3-2 Thursday night.
Huskey doubled off Tim Crabtree (1-4) leading off the ninth before Hocking, who pinch-hit for Jason Maxwell, walked. Chad
Moeller grounded to second base and Hocking avoided the tag of
Frank Catalanotto, who threw to first to retire Moeller. Hocking was caught in a rundown between Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro and shortstop Royce Clayton.
After Palmeiro chased Hocking toward second, Palmeiro threw to
Clayton. Huskey hit third just as Clayton received the throw, and
once Huskey saw Clayton relay back to Palmeiro, he alertly took off
for home.
Huskey beat Palmeiro's throw home by a step and slid under Ivan
Rodriguez's tag for the game-winner.
"You work on that in spring training," Huskey said. "I just
had to make sure Royce gave the ball up. Once he released the ball,
I knew it was going to be bang-bang, so I had to slide outside the
tag."
LaTroy Hawkins (2-2) retired the last batter in the eighth, and
Eddie Guardado got one out in the ninth. Bob Wells got the last two
outs with runners on the corners for his fourth save in six
opportunities.
"I was shaking hands in the dugout and I said, 'Man, there's a
lot of sweaty palms in here,"' Twins manager Tom Kelly said.
"Dennis did a good job of avoiding the tag at second base and
Butch did a good job of sliding."
The Twins avoided a three-game sweep by the Rangers, who won two
straight after a dismal 1-8 road trip.
The game turned into a surprise pitching duel when two emergency
starters took a 2-2 game into the eighth.
Texas starter Matt Perisho and Minnesota's Joe Mays were forced
into duty because of injuries to both scheduled starters.
Perisho, who gave up five hits and two runs in seven innings,
replaced scheduled starter Darren Oliver, who was placed on the
15-day disabled list Wednesday because of weakness in his left
shoulder. Perisho walked two and struck out four.
"I felt like I did my job," Perisho said. "We made them earn
their runs."
Mays held the Rangers to two runs on eight hits before he was
replaced by Travis Miller at the start of the eighth. Mays was
pushed up in the rotation when scheduled starter Eric Milton was
hit in the left hand -- his pitching hand -- Tuesday while standing
in the outfield during in batting practice. Mays walked two and
struck out four.
The Rangers took a 2-1 lead on Rodriguez's 23rd home run, an
opposite-field, 391-foot shot in the fifth inning. Rodriguez, the
1999 AL MVP, is second in the league in homers. He trails Toronto's
Carlos Delgado, who has 25.
The Twins answered in the sixth when Corey Koskie's bunt single
scored Matt Lawton from third. Lawton singled to start the inning
and moved to third on two infield groundouts.
Ron Coomer's second-inning home run to left, his ninth of the
year, gave the Twins a 1-0 lead. The right-handed first baseman is
7-for-10 with three RBIs in his career against Perisho.
The Rangers tied it 1-1 in the third when Palmeiro singled home
Catalanotto, who singled, stole second and reached third on a
throwing error by Twins rookie catcher Moeller.
Game notes
Perisho's seven innings were a career high. He went 6 1/3
twice previously. ... Rangers rookie 3B Mike Lamb was 2-for-4, his 13th multihit game. He has a six-game hitting streak, including
four multihit games. ... Moeller recorded his first major league
hit with a single in the third inning. He made his major league
debut Wednesday after being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake City.
... Rangers OF Dave Martinez recorded his second straight hit with a line-drive single in the second inning, after breaking an
0-for-20 slump Wednesday with a two-run double in the fifth inning.
Martinez's double Wednesday was the game-winner. ... Texas plays 12
of its next 15 games at home before the All-Star break.
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