Milton, Twins Stop Rangers

Eric Milton wishes he could share some of the run support he got with his fellow pitchers.

Milton allowed two hits in seven innings, and Jay Canizaro had four RBIs to help the Minnesota Twins break a four-game skid with a 10-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Milton's teammate, Brad Radke, has lost his last two starts, getting only four runs. Radke lost 3-1 to Anaheim on Thursday despite allowing only one earned run.

Milton (4-1) walked three and gave up two runs in the first two innings, before settling down to win his second straight start.

"The team picked me up," he said. "I was rushing a little bit and gave up a couple runs. We took the lead and from there, I said to myself to try and shut them down."

The second Texas run came when Scarborough Green stole home, easily beating Milton's pitch to the plate.

Milton then retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced, including consecutive strikeouts of Chad Curtis, Ivan Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning.

"He's a pretty good pitcher," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "He threw the ball very well with a good light fastball and changing speeds. He started guys off with a good curve to get strike one."

The left-hander has the last two Minnesota wins, pitcing eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 win at Oakland last Saturday.

The Twins, who lost all 12 games to Texas last season, have won three of the four games played between the two teams this year.

"We definitely wanted to come out and put together some better at-bats," Canizaro said. "Texas has a good ballclub, so you've got to keep pouring it on when you can. That's how you win ballgames against clubs like these."

Darren Oliver (1-3) lasted only four innings, giving up five runs and seven hits before he was replaced by Matt Perisho to start the fifth inning.

Trailing 2-0, the Twins took the lead in the second inning on Canizaro's two-run double and an RBI single by Denny Hocking.

Butch Huskey's third homer in the third inning made it 4-2. Canizaro added RBI groundouts in the fourth and the Twins' five-run seventh inning.

Green had an RBI double in the second before stealing home.

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