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MIN@TEX: Harrison dominates Twins with a two-hit gem

A road start might be the perfect answer for Matt Harrison to get back on track. He'll try to do just that on Tuesday as he starts for the Rangers in Kansas City after struggling in his last outing at home.

Harrison had won two straight decisions, allowing two hits in eight innings in both wins, before Tampa Bay blasted him for seven runs on 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings at Rangers Ballpark on Wednesday.

The left-hander is 10-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 15 road starts, compared to a 5-4 record and 3.68 ERA in 11 home starts. A win on Tuesday also puts him within striking distance of Scott Feldman's club record for road wins -- 12 -- established in 2009.

"I just have to get back to doing what I was doing before that start, keeping the ball down in the zone and executing pitches," Harrison said. "I didn't execute the other day, and that's what happens. I need to get on top of my fastball and get downhill with it. If I do that, it makes my other pitches better. It makes my breaking ball better, and my curveball in the last game was also a little flat."

A win would also be his 16th of the season, which would make him only the fourth Rangers southpaw to win 16 or more. Harrison would join Kenny Rogers, Derek Holland and C.J. Wilson in accomplishing that feat.

Meanwhile, following a rough first two starts after joining the Royals, Jeremy Guthrie was mostly stellar for the month of August. He went 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA despite an Aug. 25 start in which he allowed six earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings.

Guthrie will be making his third appearance against Texas this season, and will be gunning for his first win against the Rangers. He held Detroit to one run over 7 1/3 innings in Kansas City's 2-1 victory in his last start. He did allow 10 hits, but nine were singles, and he issued no walks.

"I was going to go out there and throw strikes, and when you throw strikes, guys put some swings on 'em," he said. "The biggest thing was I was able to keep nine of them to singles and just allow one extra-base hit. That was kind of the big key in terms of allowing hits but no runs."

Rangers: Kinsler returns to lineup
• Ian Kinsler went 1-for-5 on Monday after sitting out Sunday's game with lower back stiffness. Kinsler said he initially experienced stiffness in his back a couple of weeks ago, but it was never extreme enough to prevent him from playing until Sunday.

"I don't know what it is, but today it's fine," Kinsler said. "I just need to try and stay on top of it and make sure it doesn't happen again. It's good today. I probably could have played yesterday."

• Mike Napoli performed agility drills and light running on Monday. The Texas catcher, on the disabled list since Aug. 11 with a strained left quad, is now able to take batting practice and catch bullpen sessions. However, Napoli still isn't able to run the bases, and the Rangers have set no timetable for his return.

Royals: Escobar gets day off
• Alcides Escobar got Monday's game off, with Tony Abreu filling in for him at shortstop and hitting second. Abreu is 9-for-22 with nine RBIs over his last five games, but the move was also about giving Escobar a breather.

"It's more about getting Abreu some time and getting [Escobar] a day off, too," Yost said. "Escobar's probably the one guy who's had the least amount of days off on our team. Back-to-back day games, it's a good chance to get him a break. He's been struggling a little bit offensively, so it's a good chance to get him a day of."

• David Lough went 1-for-4 on Monday, the third straight game in which the rookie started in right field and hit leadoff. Lough is hitting .357 (5-for-14) with four runs scored in three games since being called up on Saturday.

"He's a guy that has a pretty decent approach the first two games, and I'm going on two games," Yost said. "He swung the bat well. I like the way that he goes about it."

Worth noting
• The Rangers' 14-6 record at Kauffman Stadium since 2008 gives them the highest winning percentage (.700) of any American League team at the park over that span.

• Texas' win on Monday evened the teams' season series, 3-3.

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