By the end of the third inning, this game was already 9-0 Texas and Twins starter Brian Duensing had been knocked out of the ballgame. Thus, the Twins just went through the motions and while they did have some small threats throughout the game, they were not able to match the Rangers' firepower as they lost 9-3 to Texas.
The Rangers took the lead right away in the bottom of the 1st inning when Ian Kinsler led off with a home run to left field. Almost as fast as the Twins were in that deficit, it became clear that the Rangers were squaring up everything that Duensing was throwing at them. Although Duensing did retire the #2 hitter, Elvis Andrus, it was on a sharp line drive right at Trevor Plouffe. Josh Hamilton then doubled, and two batters later, Hamilton came home on a double by Nelson Cruz.
Things didn't get any better for Duensing, as he allowed a 3-run homer to #9 hitter Mitch Moreland, who had been hitting .227/.291/.313 against LHP in his career. (Read: It was an aberration.) Duensing then allowed another run and loaded the bases in the 3rd inning before being pulled in favor of Alex Burnett. While Burnett did strike out Mitch Moreland, he then allowed a bases-clearing triple to Kinsler, pinning the final 3 runs of 9 on onto Duensing's line for the game.
On the offensive side, the Twins did have a few bright spots. Justin Morneau was in sync during the afternoon, as he went 4 for 4, including a solo homer in the top of the 4th, his 17th of the year, off Rangers starter Ryan Dempster. Pedro Florimon added another run in the 5th inning when he drove home Jamey Carroll with a single, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Then in the 7th, consecutive doubles with 2 outs by Ben Revere and Joe Mauer gave the Twins their last run for the day.
Studs
Justin Morneau (4 for 4, HR), Jamey Carroll (2 for 4, 2B, R), Pedro Florimon (2 for 3, BB, RBI)
Duds
Brian Duensing (2 1/3 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), Josh Willingham (0 for 4, 2 K)
Note
While Alex Burnett did throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, he did allow all three of his inherited runners to score on Ian Kinsler's triple after he relieved Brian Duensing. Hence, Burnett is not a stud today, even though he ate some innings to help out the 'pen.