Twins Offense Struggles Again In Loss To Rangers

MINNEAPOLIS -- Returning home from a five-game road trip wasn’t enough for the Minnesota Twins to revive their offense in a 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Kevin Correia allowed four earned runs in seven innings for the Twins in their fourth straight loss since climbing two games over .500 on May 21.

Trevor Plouffe homered and Eduardo Escobar had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who have scored just eight runs in their previous five games.

Correia (2-6) set down nine straight before Rougned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo lined back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth. Elvis Andrus followed with a double to the gap in left-center that scored both runners and broke a 2-all tie in the fifth inning.

After a rough April, Correia has a 5.48 ERA through five starts this month. He looked more comfortable on the mound on Monday, throwing 55 strikes on 90 pitches, compared to his most recent home start in a May 14 loss to the Boston Red Sox in which he allowed nine hits and lasted just four innings.

“We had a couple chances today, scored a couple runs early on and it didn’t continue,” Correia said. “All the bad two-out pitches we threw today, it was a situation where one pitch here or there and we’re up instead of down. Those are important pitches you have to make.”

Nick Tepesch (2-0) won his second consecutive start for the first time in his career. Andrus and Chris Gimenez each had two RBIs for the Rangers.

Gimenez made it 6-2 off a two-out, two-run double down the line in left off reliever Jared Burton, who allowed three hits and three earned runs in the eighth.

Minnesota had its opening day outfield back together for the first time since the first week of the season, but the Twins skipper issued caution on that immediately equating to more runs.

Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia were activated from the disabled list after Sunday’s game and started alongside center-fielder Aaron Hicks.

Though the Twins fortified the middle of their order, they received the bulk of their production on Monday from the bottom third of the lineup in Kurt Suzuki, Hicks and Eduardo Escobar. The trio combined for six of the Twins’ nine hits on the afternoon.

Hicks, a career switch-hitter, informed Gardenhire before the game that he decided to only hit from the right side. The struggling prospect is hitting .250 right-handed compared to .149 from the left side.

He had two singles Monday.

Two replay reviews went against the Twins. Arcia slid into third after a botched play in the outfield in the first, but a review showed third-baseman Adrian Beltre tagging him before his foot reached the base.

Gardenhire challenged an out call at first on Willingham’s dribbler down the line in the sixth, but the call stood.

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