MINNEAPOLIS -- Rougned Odor's home run, Joey Gallo's throw and the work of five pitchers led the Rangers to a 4-1 victory in 11 innings over the Twins on Sunday afternoon at Target Field.

A look at the three key elements:

The pitching

Rangers manager Chris Woodward’s original plan was to use right-hander José Leclerc as the opener and then bring in left-hander Joe Palumbo. But Woodward ended up using Ariel Jurado in relief after Leclerc gave up a run-scoring triple to Byron Buxton with two outs in the second.

• Box score

Jurado ended up pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Palumbo took over in the fifth. Woodward was hoping to use Palumbo in a less stressful situation that the 1-1 scoreline he inherited when he came into the game.

“We talked about it beforehand, depending on where the score was,” Woodward said. “I didn’t foresee throwing Palumbo in a tie game. If you have to, you have to. With Jurado available, I felt he and Leclerc could get through at least the first three and maybe take a little heat off Palumbo. They ended up getting through the first four, which was great.”

Palumbo retired nine of 10 hitters through three scoreless innings against an offense that entered the day leading the American League in runs scored and had a .500 team slugging percentage. They had scored 22 runs in the first two games against the Rangers.

“I don’t care who you are,” Palumbo said. “I don’t care how many batting titles you’ve won. I am going to go after guys with all my pitches and throw every pitch with conviction.”

The Rangers also got two scoreless innings each from relievers Chris Martin and Shawn Kelley. It’s only the second time this season Martin has pitched two innings and it was the first time for Kelley.

Palumbo, called up because the Rangers decided to skip Mike Minor, was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville after the game.

The throw

Gallo’s throw from center field in the bottom of the fourth kept the game tied.

The Twins had Jonathan Schoop on third and Buxton on second with one out when Max Kepler, facing Jurado, hit a fly ball to center. Gallo made the catch and had no chance at Schoop on a fly with an estimated distance of 345 feet. But Buxton tried for third and Gallo threw him out before Schoop could cross home plate. The throw was clocked at 94.7 miles per hour.

“It was hit pretty deep, but I felt like I would give it a chance and whatever happens, happens,” Gallo said. “Nine times out of 10, it doesn’t happen. I know Buxton was running, but why not make the attempt?”

Both Gallo and Woodward gave credit to third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera for grabbing the throw on the short hop and getting the tag down. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t blame Buxton for trying for third even though it cost his team a run.

“First of all, Buck has a great baseball mind,” Baldelli said. “He’s got great awareness; we trust him to just do what he thinks is right and make a good baseball play. I’m sure he’s tagged on that ball -- I couldn’t tell you how many times in his career -- and he’s safe. He’s not only safe, he’s clearly safe.”

The home run

Left-hander Adalberto Mejia was the sixth Twins pitcher when he took over in the 11th. He retired Nomar Mazara on a line drive, but Gallo and Cabrera both worked walks. Woodward said that was crucial in setting everything up for Odor.

“We worked some counts and made the other guy throw some pitches,” Woodward said. “It allowed Rougie to get a pitch to hit. That’s something we talk about when you pass the baton, the next guy gets a good pitch to hit and Rougie was ready.”

Odor said he went up looking fastball and got one on the first pitch, crushing it over the left-center field wall and into the bullpen area. The shot had an exit velocity of 107.6 miles per hour and an estimated distance of 409 feet. It was also just the Rangers’ second hit in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“We fight,” Odor said. “We fight the whole game. We don’t give up. Our pitching did a good job just to keep the game tied.”