“I think I’ll be fine,” Ober said. “I mean, obviously if I keep pitching like this, then probably not. I’ve been dealing with this since spring. I’ve been able to throw well, five quality starts in a row with the same stuff, so I feel like I’ll be able to do that. I’ve just got to get back to what I do, and that’s throwing strikes, getting ahead of guys, not walking anyone.”

Ober, who gave up a leadoff homer to Josh Smith to begin his afternoon, unraveled during a five-run, 41-pitch second inning. He had trouble finding his correct release point, he said, and only 16 of his 41 pitches were for strikes.

He gave up a solo homer to Jake Burger, who yanked a changeup over the left-field wall, then watched five straight batters reach base with two outs. Wyatt Langford punctuated the second inning with a three-run homer, pulling a sinker that hit the left-field foul pole.

“You’re going to run into weeks and even months that are not going to be the easiest time,” Baldelli said. “You’re not going to be able to rely on simply your top guys and your big-name players all the time. That’s actually the beauty of the game. We’ve already seen many guys on this team step up.”

The Rangers, who entered this week with one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the majors, scored six runs in the sixth inning against Twins relievers Cole Sands and Joey Wentz. Adolis García hit a three-run homer off Wentz, who walked three batters in his Twins debut after he was claimed off waivers Wednesday.

Danny Coulombe, who threw one pitch to record one out in the seventh inning, was the only Twins pitcher who didn’t give up a run.