by By Kelsie Smith ksmith@pioneerpress.com , St. Paul Pioneer Press

Francisco Liriano needed a second half awakening like the one Scott Baker experienced Saturday night. He needed a low pitch count, minimal walks and a lengthy stay on the mound, and though he eked out a quality start, his three runs allowed in six innings of work were a laborious affair.

The left-hander breezed through the first four innings after giving up that leadoff homer to Kinsler, but he tripped up in one-run Texas fifth, stumbled in a two-walk Rangers sixth and finally stalled two batters (and two hits) into the seventh.

Bobby Keppel came in and allowed one of his inherited runners to score via sacrifice bunt followed by sacrifice fly. From there the bullpen weaved in and out of jams until R. A. Dickey offered up a home run pitch to Kinsler in the 12th.

In the fourth, Andruw Jones lifted a 1-0 pitch down the left field line that crossed into the outfield seats right near the foul pole. Third base umpire Brian O'Nora called the ball fair, fireworks blasted into the Texas sky and Jones began his trot around the bases. At the same time, manager Ron Gardenhire began his own trot from the dugout.

One night after a failed argument got him tossed from the game, Sunday's trip to consult with the umps proved more successful. Umpires retreated to review the hit via video replay, emerged 2 minutes and 20 seconds later and ruled the ball foul. Jones returned to the batter's box and flew out to center.

Jones' shot marked the first time video replay was used at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and the second time it has been used in a Twins game. The first time was last September at Tropicana Field, when umpires initially called fan interference on a Carlos Pena blast and ruled it a homer after the review.

Joe Mauer's long spiral back to earth continued with an 0-for-6 Sunday at the plate -- the first time in his major league career the catcher has gone 0 for 6 in a game. Mauer's batting average has tumbled 71 points since June 16 when he was batting .429.

He is 2 for 25 since July 10 and has just two extra base hits this month. His flyout to left in the seventh dropped him to .371 and into second place in the American League batting race, two points behind Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. After his strikeout to lead off the 10th, he finished the weekend at .360.

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