Yu Darvish struggled and left a tied game with with the bases loaded in the fifth. From there on, the game was all Rangers.
Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn left with shoulder stiffness, and Texas added five more hits, a walk, and a reach on an error in the final three innings. The ROE came off the bat of Young, the goat of the first six innings with his play in the first six innings, and brought in a run, as did his single in the seventh. The other two RBIs came from Adrian Beltre, singling and doubling Hamilton in for runs in the seventh and ninth respectively.
All four runs after the sixth came with two outs.
Texas had 13 total hits, almost entirely from the Hamilton-to-Cruz portion of the lineup, save for three hits by Brandon Snyder in his first start. Hamilton, Beltre, and Cruz each had two doubles, with Beltre adding a walk and Hamilton adding a homerun. The only other runner to reach was Elvis Andrus on a walk.
The bullpen combined for another scoreless outing, though Joe Nathan once again made the last inning interesting, allowing runners to reach second and third with no outs before striking out the next two hitters and ending the game on a harmless ground ball. He took 26 pitches, but at least he got out with no damage.
The win moves the Rangers to 7-2, the best record in the American League, keeping them 3.5 in front of the Angels, and making them the first MLB team with a +20 run differential. It also gives them at least a victory in their third straight series.