strategy with its pitchers for the first time this season when left-handed reliever Gabriel Moya is expected to start for the Twins against the Texas Rangers on Sunday Evan Gattis Jersey , following a practice began in May by Tampa Bay and utilized by a handful of other major league teams this year.Right-hander Zack Littell will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to serve as what Minnesota manager Paul Molitor has dubbed the Twins’ “primary pitcher” after Moya.The Rangers will counter with left-hander Yohander Mendez (0-1, 14.73 ERA) as their starter in the rubber game of the series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.Article continues below ...Texas hit four homers to beat Minnesota 7-4 on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak. Rookie Ronald Guzman hit a three-run homer while Nomar Marzara, Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor hit solo homers.The Twins have been utilizing the “opener” strategy for months at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Minnesota decided to push back right-hander Kyle Gibson’s start to Monday in Houston to try the strategy because the Rangers have a left-handed top of their batting order.The “opener” is employed to keep the game’s primary pitcher from facing the top of the lineup early and to be limited to two times through the order.“You don’t want to do it on a whim,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told MLB.com. “There’s always going to be a risk, and then you try to decide in the game when it’s worthwhile to try to find out if this is something that’s going to be helpful to help your team win. You’re looking for an advantage.”The Rangers activated pitcher Bartolo Colon off the disabled list Saturday, but then scratched him from Sunday’s start against the Twins because of a stomach virus. Colon hasn’t pitched since Aug. 20 because of stiffness in his back. The 45-year-old is a free agent after this season.The 23-year-old Mendez is set to be recalled Sunday to make his second start and third appearance of 2018. He has never faced Minnesota.Mendez is being brought back to the big leagues for the first time since June 19, when he was demoted to Class A after violating team rules in Kansas City.“He took the challenges with the right attitude, went back down, and he’s going to get an opportunity to come back up tomorrow and start for us,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said of Mendez.The Rangers are satisfied that Mendez has done everything asked of him since the demotion.“Reports I got were that he worked his rear end off, physically and mentally, and took all the challenges and met all of them, even when they were a little bit tough,” Banister said. “The thing that I like about our coaching staff and this organization is that things like that happen. (But if) you go do your work, you’re given that opportunity to clean that slate, go do what you need to do.”Mendez exited his last start for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday at home against Memphis after two innings when he was struck on his left arm by a batted ball. He is expected to be fully healthy for Sunday’s start. NEW YORK (AP) — Ronald Guzman became the first rookie to hit three home runs in a game against the Yankees, powering the Texas Rangers past New York 12-7 on Friday night.Eight days after Boston’s Steve Pearce connected three times off the Yankees, Guzman duplicated the feat in ending New York’s four-game winning streak.Guzman grounded out his first time up, then hit solo home runs in three straight at-bats. The 23-year-old first baseman batted again in the eighth with a chance to tie the big league record for homers in a game — no rookie has ever hit four — but struck out swinging against Chad Green.Guzman’s two homers off Masahiro Tanaka (9-3) and one off A.J. Cole made him the first Texas player to hit three home runs in a game since Adrian Beltre in 2012.Overall, Guzman has 12 home runs this season, six against the Yankees.Beltre also joined in the fun with his seventh homer of the season http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , tying recent Hall of Fame inductee Chipper Jones for the 33rd spot on baseball’s career list with 469.Mike Minor (9-6) won his third straight start.Guzman pulled homers to right field in the fourth and the sixth that made it 6-1 and chased Tanaka. Guzman went the opposite way for a drive in the seventh off Cole.Austin Romine and Brett Gardner homered for the Yankees.RED SOX 19, ORIOLES 12BALTIMORE (AP) — Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi each hit three-run homers, Brock Holt connected in a six-run sixth inning and Boston overpowered the Baltimore.After hitting for the cycle one night earlier, Mookie Betts went 3 for 4 with two walks and three RBIs. The 19 runs were the most for Boston since a 22-run outburst against Seattle in August 2015.The Red Sox have won 11 of 13 to open a nine-game lead over the second-place Yankees in the AL East.Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi gave up eight runs, four earned, and 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings.Orioles reliever Miguel Castro (2-7) walked three of the five batters he faced.After the Orioles closed to 11-10 in the bottom half, Benintendi homered in the seventh. Drew Pomeranz (2-5) got the win in his first relief appearance since 2016.Chris Davis, Tim Beckham and Mark Trumbo homered for the Orioles.PADRES 2, PHILLIES 0SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jacob Nix pitched six strong innings in his major league debut and San Diego blanked Philadelphia.Nix (1-0) got off to a rocky start. He stranded three runners after a pair of singles and a walk in the first, and two more runners in the second.Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco both singled to lead off the ninth for the Phillies. Kirby Yates held on for his fourth save of the season after replacing former Padres closer Brad Hand.Zach Eflin (8-4) struck out eight in six innings.ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 3ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kole Calhoun and Justin Upton hit two-run homers, Albert Pujols reached another milestone and Los Angeles rallied past Oakland.With a single in the sixth inning, Pujols recorded his 1,000th career hit with the Angels. He became just the ninth player all-time with at least 1,000 hits in each league after getting 2,073 with St. Louis.Matt Chapman and Khris Davis homered in the first inning for the A’s.Jim Johnson (4-2) retired the only batter he faced. The Angels used three more pitchers in the ninth, with Blake Parker getting the final out for his 11th save.Upton hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth off Lou Trivino (8-2).GIANTS 13, PIRATES 10SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buster Posey got four hits, Andrew McCutchen homered against his former team and San Francisco defeated Pittsburgh.The Giants had lost three in a row and the Pirates had won three straight.All four of Posey’s hits came in the first four innings as the Giants built a 10-2 lead.Francisco Cervelli drove in five runs with three hits, including a grand slam, for the Pirates.Derek Holland (6-8) gave up five runs in 6 1/3 innings. Clay Holmes (1-2) was tagged for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in his third career start.CUBS 3 Dallas Keuchel Jersey , NATIONALS 2CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Heyward broke up a no-hitter with a tying two-run single in the sixth inning, Anthony Rizzo drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh and Chicago beat Washington.In the first meeting between the teams since Chicago beat Washington in the NL Division Series, the Cubs won even though they didn’t get a hit against Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson.Rizzo walked three times. Manager Joe Maddon got ejected, but the Cubs pulled out the victory.Hellickson was sailing along, retiring 17 in a row after issuing a leadoff walk to Rizzo in the first. But things took a wild turn with two out in the sixth.He walked Rizzo on 13 pitches and both Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist on four to load the bases. Heyward took two balls from Sammy Solis (1-2) before lining the tying single past second baseman Daniel Murphy.Chicago took a 3-2 lead in the seventh after Maddon got tossed for arguing an interference call against Willson Contreras on the bases.Kyle Hendricks gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings for Chicago. Steve Cishek (3-1) struck out the final two batters in the seventh. Carl Edwards Jr. got three outs in the eighth after former Washington pitcher Brandon Kintzler walked the first two batters.Pedro Strop worked the ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances.RAYS 7, BLUE JAYS 0TORONTO (AP) — Blake Snell pitched five perfect innings and then was pulled, Michael Perez hit his first career home run and Tampa Bay beat Toronto.Making his second start since spending time on the disabled list because of shoulder fatigue, Snell (13-5) threw 47 pitches. The All-Star lefty struck out six.Reliever Jake Faria came on to begin the sixth and gave up an infield single to leadoff batter Luke Maile. Two outs later, Randal Grichuk hit a single to left but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Faria allowed one walk and three singles in three innings. Jamie Schultz pitched a hitless ninth for the Rays.Perez, playing in his 10th big league game, hit a two-run homer in the third inning and Ji-Man Choi added a solo drive in the sixth. Both came off Marco Estrada (5-9).MARINERS 5, ASTROS 2HOUSTON (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit a tiebreaking two-run double in a three-run eighth inning to lift Seattle past Houston.Mitch Haniger doubled with one out in the eighth, and Denard Span singled to chase starter Gerrit Cole (10-5). Ryan Pressly took over and his first pitch plunked Jean Segura on the top of his left hand. Cruz then smashed a ball off the wall in left-center to score Haniger and Span and make it 4-2. The Mariners tacked on a run when Segura scored on Kyle Seager’s groundout.Seattle starter Mike Leake allowed eight hits and two runs in six innings. Adam Warren (1-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh for the win and Edwin Diaz struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 44th save. Gerrit Cole (10-5) was the loser.REDS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 0CINCINNATI (AP) — Anthony DeSclafani struck out a season-high nine to outduel Clay Buchholz and scored one of Cincinnati’s two runs on Billy Hamilton’s suicide-squeeze bunt to help the Reds beat Arizona.DeSclafani (6-3) allowed three hits and no walks while pitching into the eighth inning of his second straight shutdown outing. He limited Washington to one run on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts in seven innings of a 7-1 victory last Saturday.DeSclafani also singled in the seventh and scored from first base on Buchholz’s throwing error on Hamilton’s bunt up the first base line, which drove in Tucker Barnhart.Raisel Iglesias struck out A.J. Pollock in the ninth for his 22nd save.Buchholz (5-2) saw his personal winning streak snapped at five.ROCKIES 5, DODGERS 4DENVER (AP) — Ryan McMahon hit a two-run homer in the seventh after replacing injured slugger Nolan Arenado, and Colorado’s beleaguered bullpen kept Los Angeles in check.McMahon entered the game in the fifth when Arenado was taken out with soreness in his right shoulder. McMahon lined a fastball from reliever Zac Rosscup (0-1) to straightaway center.The bullpen finished things off a day after giving up five homers and seven runs. The relievers went a combined 3 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Jon Gray left, with Jake McGee (2-4) picking up the win and Adam Ottavino closing out the ninth instead of a struggling Wade Davis. It was Ottavino’s fifth save.DJ LeMahieu had a two-run homer in the first to help the Rockies snap a six-game skid against the Dodgers at Coors Field. It was his first homer since June 28.CARDINALS 7, ROYALS 0KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Carpenter homered for the sixth time in seven games, Austin Gomber pitched five scoreless innings and St. Louis beat Kansas City.Carpenter tops the National League with 32 home runs, a .600 slugging percentage and 65 extra-base hits. Carpenter sent a fastball from Burch Smith (1-4) into the right-field fountains for a two-out http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , two-run drive. He extended his career high for homers as the Cardinals scored five times in the second.Paul DeJong led off the second inning with his 11th home run. Bader and Jose Martinez, who had three hits, contributed RBI singles to set up Carpenter.Harrison Bader homered in the sixth and Martinez had an RBI double in the seventh.Gomber (2-0) allowed four hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out three in his third major league start. Daniel Poncedeleon allowed two hits over three innings to notch his first big league save.METS 6, MARLINS 2MIAMI (AP) — Zack Wheeler won his fifth straight start, pitching seven solid innings and New York sent Miami to its ninth loss in 10 games.Wheeler (7-6) allowed four hits and two runs. He struck out eight and walked one. Wheeler’s scoreless-inning streak ended at 23 when he gave up a two-run homer to Miguel Rojas with two outs in the seventh, making it 4-2.Amed Rosario had three hits and drove in two runs, Kevin Plawecki knocked in two and Austin Jackson had three hits for the Mets. They have won three of four.Jose Urena (3-12) was the loser.TIGERS 5, TWINS 3DETROIT (AP) — Niko Goodrum and Jose Iglesias homered and Detroit beat Minnesota to snap a six-game losing streak.Jordan Zimmermann (5-4) gave up two unearned runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out one batter and didn’t issue a walk. Shane Greene allowed an RBI double to Ehire Adrianza with two out in the ninth before retiring Joe Mauer for his 24th save.Ervin Santana (0-1) took the loss in his fourth start of the season.WHITE SOX 1, INDIANS 0CHICAGO (AP) — Daniel Palka led off the ninth inning with a home run, Carlos Rodon matched a career high by throwing eight innings of scoreless four-hit ball and Chicago beat Cleveland.Palka launched a 1-2 pitch from Neil Ramirez (0-2) six rows up into the left field seats for his 18th homer. The shot ended Chicago’s three-game losing streak.Jace Fry (1-2), the White Sox’s third reliever, got the last two outs for his first major league victory. Rodon and Cleveland rookie Shane Bieber tossed crisp scoreless ball deep into the game. Each was relieved after 106 pitches.BRAVES 10, BREWERS 1ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Gausman pitched eight strong innings to win his SunTrust Park debut, and Ender Inciarte drove in four runs in Atlanta;s victory over Milwaukee.Gausman (6-9), making his first home appearance since getting acquired in a trade with Baltimore, allowed six hits and no walks, striking out eight and throwing 71 of 94 pitches for strikes.Nick Markakis added three RBIs and Johan Camargo had two, helping the Braves win for the ninth time in 12 games. Freddy Peralta (5-3) was the loser.