Twins lose to Texas on 11th-inning home run, take 5 1/2-game lead into All-Star break

Manager Rocco Baldelli wants the Twins to unplug as much as possible during the All-Star break. Relax. Think about things other than baseball.

"I'm sure it'll be a good feeling for everyone to take a little break, choose what you're going to do and who you're going to hang out with and what coffee you're going to drink, and that's it," Baldelli said. "We'll reconvene on Thursday in Cleveland and our guys are ready to go."

They sure picked the right game to forget about.

Rougned Odor's three-run homer off Adalberto Mejia in the 11th inning Sunday was the decisive blow in a 4-1 loss to Rangers, a game that was antithetical to how the Twins rose to the top of the AL Central.

First, they were held one run, only the ninth time they scored one run or fewer this season.

Second, Byron Buxton was thrown out on the basepaths. He tried to go from second to third in the fourth inning while Jonathan Schoop attempted to tag from third and score on Max Kepler's fly ball. Strong-armed center fielder Joey Gallo threw Buxton out before Schoop crossed the plate, making it an inning-ending double play.

"It's a run that probably should have scored and just ultimately didn't," Baldelli said.

Who knew then that the Twins were done scoring? Baseball's best offense was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Sunday. The lone run came in the second inning on Buxton's two-out RBI triple. While the Twins won two of three games vs. Texas this weekend, Cleveland won its sixth in a row Sunday and is now 5½ games back, having cut 3½ games off the Twins' division lead in eight days.

That will be on the minds of Twins fans during the break, while the team seeks diversions.

"And today stings a little bit, losing in extra innings," said Twins righthander Kyle Gibson, "but if we win the rest of the series the rest of the year, once again, we would be pretty happy. So perspective is a big thing in trying not to hang on every loss, hang on every win and trying to remain consistent. I think everyone is going to enjoy their break and show up to Cleveland ready to go."

The Twins have dominated at the plate for stretches of the season. Their gaudy offensive numbers reflect that, as they lead MLB in home runs (166), slugging percentage (.497) and on base-plus-slugging percentage (.833) and are tied for first in runs (509) and batting average (.272).

At 56-33, the Twins have their second-best record ever at the break. And that has happened despite going 9-11 over their past 20 games. It's their worst stretch all season, but it comes at a time they played extra-inning games of 11, 12, 17 and 18 innings and placed eight players on the injured list.

"I think we should be happy and proud with how we've played," Baldelli said. "That being said, it hasn't been easy. Almost every guy in that clubhouse has given up his body for this team. It's been challenging."

The challenges will keep coming regardless of how healthy the Twins will be. But they are in first place and one of the surprising teams in the majors. That will make for an enjoyable break.

"It definitely makes it enjoyable," Gibson said. "I think it is easy to get caught up in what everything looked like two to three weeks ago and now what it looks like and how we struggled a little bit the last three weeks. I think if you asked us April 1 if we had a 5½-game lead in the division at the All-Star break, everyone would be pretty happy."