Teagarden makes his first hit count

MINNEAPOLIS – Rookie Taylor Teagarden broke up Scott Baker’s perfect-game bid with a sixth-inning home run and caught Vicente Padilla’s gem Sunday as the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0.

“The only thing he didn’t do was clean the stadium after the game,” Texas closer C.J. Wilson said.

The Rangers handed the Twins only their eighth defeat in 31 games. Baker (6-3) took a hard-luck loss, his first in six starts.

Baker retired the first 17 Rangers who came to bat, and by the time Teagarden stepped to the plate in the sixth, the crowd of 36,029 had begun to catch on. Baker received ovations before all three of his two-out, two-strike pitches to the rookie.

But with the count full, Teagarden, in only his second major league game, stroked a fastball that kept carrying and barely cleared the center-field wall and Carlos Gomez’s glove.

“Baker was throwing so well at that point, I figured he was going to come with his best fastball, and he did,” Teagarden said.

Padilla (11-5), activated from the disabled list before the game, gave up three hits in seven innings.

From the Associated Press