The Twins beat the Rangers 10-2 on Friday in a regular-season MLB game. By then the result had settled into something one-sided, and here's the thing — it was not the outcome anyone had been tracking closely. The visitors had looked comfortable in their recent run against the Mets, but this was a different matter entirely.
Minnesota carried momentum from their series against the Giants, where they had won three of five, including a 4-2 and 3-2 victory on the 23rd. The Rangers, meanwhile, had stumbled to two losses in their last three, dropping 7-3 and 6-3 to New York. To be fair, they had also beaten Toronto 6-2 on the 19th, but form is fickle at this stage of the season.
The scoreline tells a straightforward story. Ten runs for the home side, two for the visitors, and the gap opened early enough that neither side needed to push further. The Rangers were predicting a win with 57 per cent confidence, which, by then, looked like a comfortable assumption made before the game began.
Recent results for the Twins: 4-2 and 3-2 wins over the Giants, a 2-5 loss, an 8-0 victory against the Angels, and a 5-6 defeat. For the Rangers: a 3-1 win over the Mets, followed by 7-3 and 6-3 losses, a 2-7 loss to Toronto, and a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays. The contrast was stark.
The Twins extend their winning streak and move closer to closing out the regular season with something to play for. The Rangers drop further behind, and the gap in the standings begins to look less negotiable than it did a week ago.
