Sano, Hicks, Twins romp over Texas for 2nd straight win

Miguel Sano went deep twice and Aaron Hicks was 4 for 5 with a home run as the Twins pounded Texas 11-1. It’s the second straight win for the Twins over Texas. The series wraps up Thursday afternoon at Target Field.

TWINS NOTES:

1. THE TWINS improved to 36-22 at home and 16-18-3 in series play this season with tonight’s win over the Rangers…it ensured their first series win against Texas since taking two of three August 30-September 1, 2013 at Globe Life Park…it marked the seventh time this season the Twins have scored 10-or-more runs in a game…eight of the nine Twins starters recorded a hit tonight, and six players had multi-hit games.

2. MIKE PELFREY earned his sixth win of the season after allowing one run on four hits in 7.0 innings pitched…it was his first win since June 7 vs. MIL, a span of 10 starts…he retired his first 10 batters and 17 of his first 18…it was his 12th quality start, which ranks second among Twins starters (Gibson – 13)…he is now 4-2 at home with a 1.97 ERA (73.0 IP, 16 ER) in 11 starts at Target Field…his 1.97 ERA is the third best in the American League and ninth best in baseball.

3. AARON HICKS (4-for-5) led off the game with his seventh home run of the season…it was his first career lead-off home run, and the seventh for the Twins this season (Dozier – 6)…his four hits tied a career-high, done one other time (7/8/13 at TB) and tied a season-high by a Twin this year…it marked his 17th multi-hit game and 10th since the All-Star Break…since the break, he is batting .326 (30-for-92) with one triple, four home runs and 14 RBI.

4. BRIAN DOZIER (2-for-4) doubled twice tonight to bring his season total to 31, marking his third consecutive season with 30-plus doubles…he now has 58 extra-base hit on the season, which was second most in the American League and fourth most in baseball entering today.

5. MIGUEL SANO (3-for-3) hit his sixth and seventh home runs of the season tonight, marking his first career multi-homer game and the second by a Twin this season (Torii Hunter, 6/27 at MIL)…he drove in six runs tonight, which set a Twins season-high…six of his seven home runs this year have been at Target Field, where he is batting .367 (22-for-60) with 12 extra-base hits.

6. TREVOR PLOUFFE (2-for-5) snapped a personal 0-for-last-14 with a single in the third and another in the fourth…it was his 24th multi-hit game of the season, which ties Joe Mauer for second most by a Twin this year (Dozier – 27).