Rangers keep coming together when down

The Rangers trailed the Twins twice in the series finale at Target Field on Thursday afternoon. Home runs from Joey Gallo and Jonah Heim both tied the game before Willie Calhoun's go-ahead RBI single in the 10th rocketed the Rangers to a 4-3 win over Minnesota and a series victory. The Rangers are 4-0 in extra-inning games this season and have nine come-from-behind victories.

Calhoun said the confidence and the chemistry of the clubhouse has allowed the Rangers to prevail in so many of those situations.

“Honestly, I think we're all really close with each other, and I feel like that plays a big part when you believe in one another,” Calhoun said. “No matter what situation, we're all really comfortable with each other. I just feel like coming together as a team and being able to do that at this level is pretty special, and it speaks for itself.”

Calhoun hit a four-seamer well above the strike zone through the right side of the infield to drive in the automatic runner on second in the 10th.

Calhoun had a delayed start to the season after suffering a groin injury in Spring Training, but he has done nothing but rake since his return from the injured list. Through 16 games, he’s slashing .328/.397/.492 with an .889 OPS.

“I was just trying to make contact at that point [in the 10th inning],” Calhoun said. “I was just trying to choke up a lot and try to get on top of anything and make sure I put the ball in play. ... I'm just trying to keep it simple and use the whole field right now, and it seems to be working a little bit.”

Gallo’s home run, his fourth of the season, tied the game in the second inning, while another from Heim -- who entered the game hitting .111 on the season -- tied it again in the seventh. The Rangers’ only lead through regulation came on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s RBI single in the second inning, a lead that was quickly erased in the third.

Starter Jordan Lyles gave up a home run of his own to Max Kepler, Minnesota’s first batter of the game. After back-to-back rough outings against the Angels and Red Sox, Lyles was able to go five innings, allowing just three runs and notching seven strikeouts.

Lyles credited the three relievers behind him -- Brett de Geus, Taylor Hearn and Josh Sborz -- for keeping the game within reach for the Rangers’ offense to get that one big hit. The three relievers combined for five innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts and two walks.

Gallo, a 2020 American League Gold Glove Award winner, also made a diving play in right field to end the game. Calhoun and manager Chris Woodward used the same exact words to describe Gallo’s diving effort: "That's why there's gold on that glove."

Woodward said the way this club has fought so far has been representative of the culture they’re trying to build in Texas.

“The way they cheer for each other, the way they care about each other, the way they talk about the game with one another on the bench, in the locker room and off the field, it's just like they care,” Woodward explained. “And they're willing to do the things that we need to do to win games and have very tough conversations with one another.

“It's fun to watch. They're a fun team to watch. I told them after the game there's a reason why they're pulling out these wins, especially against good teams.”