ARLINGTON -- Ryan Rua hit his first career grand slam in an eight-run eighth inning to help cap off the Rangers' 14-3 comeback win over the Twins on Wednesday night at Globe Life Park.
Eduardo Escobar's two-run home run in the second gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead before the Rangers came back in the middle innings. Rua's grand slam and a three-run home run by Shin-Soo Choo were the final blows in the Rangers' big eighth inning.
"It was good to get the offense going," Rua said. "We were able to tack on some runs. Hopefully we can carry that into [our next series vs. the Angels]."
Texas trailed going into the bottom of the fifth, which is when their offense got going. Rougned Odor hit a two-run single off Twins starter Hector Santiago in the fifth, and Elvis Andrus came through with a two-run single in the middle of a four-run sixth-inning rally.
Grand slams mean 40% off pizza

Cole Hamels earned the win for the Rangers, although he was hardly overpowering. Hamels allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings on seven hits and three walks, striking out one. It's the first time Hamels has pitched at least six innings in a Major League game and struck out just one batter. That covers a span of 272 starts.
"Minnesota has always played us tough, especially since I've been here," Hamels said. "They're a tough team. They've got a lot of guys that you just have to kind of battle with, outlast. And I think that's what we were able to do. We were able to get to the bullpen and just put some good at-bats together."

Santiago, pitching despite the passing of his grandmother, allowed just two runs in five innings, striking out six, before departing having thrown 104 pitches. The Rangers scored 12 runs in three innings against the Twins' bullpen.
• Twins' bullpen has rare off night
"We just couldn't push the right buttons after [Odor's two-run single]," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We were trying to find the right matchups to keep it tied at first and keep it close, and then the floodgates opened."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Gallo cuts off rally: Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo made an outstanding defensive play in the fifth and may have shifted the momentum for the Rangers. The Twins, leading 2-0, had Byron Buxton on second and one out in the fifth when Jorge Polanco ripped a low line drive down the third-base line. The exit velocity was 100 mph, but Gallo made a backhanded play, going to his right, and fired to second to double off Buxton and end the inning.
"Huge play," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "We needed that out. A very nice play by Joey. That was a game-changer."

DeShields reaches five times: The Rangers scored two in the fifth and four in the sixth, and Delino DeShields was key to both innings with a pair of walks. He led off the fifth with a walk and later scored on Odor's two-run single. Then in the sixth, with the score 2-2, DeShields walked to load the bases for Andrus, who delivered a two-run single, with another run scoring on a wild pitch during the at-bat. DeShields finished the night 2-for-3 with three walks and a stolen base.
"A big night for Delino at the top of the lineup," Banister said. "That's what we saw in Spring Training. He was engaged." More >

QUOTABLE
"He's got to feel better. It's remarkable the difference between what we saw these three games and what we had seen previous to this point." -- Molitor, on No. 9 hitter Buxton, who entered the series hitting .109 but went 3-for-7 with five walks in an extremely productive stay in Texas
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Choo had a triple and a home run in the ninth. That's the most total bases in one inning by a Rangers hitter since Adrian Beltre hit two home runs in one inning against the Orioles on Aug. 22, 2012.

WHAT'S NEXT
Twins: Against the Royals in Kansas City at 7:15 p.m. CT on Friday, right-hander Kyle Gibson will attempt to improve on his middling first month. He's 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA and didn't make it out of the third inning in his last start.
Rangers: Right-hander Nick Martinez pitches against the Angels in the first of a three-game series on Friday at Globe Life Park. Martinez pitched against the Mariners on Saturday and allowed one run in seven innings.
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