ARLINGTON -- Slowly but surely, the Twins are healing -- and that made a difference on Friday night.

In his fourth game back in the lineup since returning from a right shoulder strain, Luis Arraez crushed an RBI triple off the center-field wall to lead off the top of the 10th inning, which primed a three-run rally that nudged Minnesota to a 7-5 series-opening victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

“I don't think opposing pitchers enjoy facing him very much,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Good to have him back out there looking like himself, doing his thing.”

In doing so, the Twins claimed their third straight win in extra-inning situations, after having dropped their first eight such games to open the season. So, one might say that they were due for a handful of these wins -- and Arraez was all too happy to provide the spark.

Three weeks after he was in so much pain while swinging that he professed to shedding tears in the clubhouse while trying to play through his shoulder injury, Arraez’s sure stroke was back when he turned on an 0-2 fastball from Texas right-hander Josh Sborz. Arraez kicked it into another gear as he coasted into third, and the Twins added walks from Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz, Ryan Jeffers and Alex Kirilloff -- the final two with the bases loaded -- to coax some insurance runs out of a wild Rangers bullpen.

"When I hit the ball, I thought that was a homer,” Arraez said with a laugh. “And then [a teammate] said, 'Hey, you don't got pop, bro.'"

Arraez now has hits in each of his three starts since coming off the injured list, and he also primed the Twins’ three-run rally in the first inning off Rangers starter Mike Foltynewicz. That opening frame also included an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Max Kepler, who was activated from the IL ahead of the series opener following his recovery from a left hamstring strain.

Making things more encouraging was the development that neither Josh Donaldson (mild right calf tightness, upper respiratory infection) nor Andrelton Simmons (left ankle tightness) is expected to need much time on the sidelines due to their ailments. And on top of that, Baldelli confirmed that Byron Buxton had “a very good day” and looked comfortable running, signaling that he could also return to the lineup soon.

If and when those pieces start falling into place, the Twins could have some tough decisions on their hands -- and that, too, was on display at Globe Life Field.

The four rookies in Minnesota’s lineup combined to reach base eight times, including Trevor Larnach’s Statcast-projected 429-foot homer in the fifth inning that briefly broke a 3-3 tie. Larnach and infielder Nick Gordon (who started in center field) have been pressed into far more action than they would likely otherwise have seen due to the rash of injuries throughout the Twins’ outfield, and both have responded with considerable success.

“Our young players didn't have at-bats like young players do tonight,” Baldelli said. “They looked more like established players who know how to approach these different ABs and different situations, and did a very nice job.”

Larnach in particular has impressed with his plate approach and productivity despite being accelerated in his development timeline. He hasn’t appeared out of his element since his promotion in early May, now boasting a .259/.375/.435 slash line through his first 35 career games. His homer off a hanging Foltynewicz slider was his first off a non-fastball, showing his continued progress.

Couple that with Gordon’s two hits and a hit and a walk from both Ryan Jeffers and Alex Kirilloff, and that proved a recipe for success throughout the lineup -- even as Buxton, Donaldson and Simmons sat this one out.

If the last month has shown anything, it’s that there’s no guarantee that these Twins will ever get fully healthy, all at once. But even as they’ve been pushed into the fire, these young pieces of the future are already pushing for continued playing time of their own.

“It was a good day in a lot of different ways up and down the lineup,” Baldelli said. “It took a lot of good at-bats to get to where we needed to be tonight. We didn't lean on anyone to carry the load and drive in all the runs. But we had a lot of guys out there grinding it out, up and down, all night.”