Arlington, Texas ? Jacque Jones wasn’t in Minnesota’s starting lineup because he was struggling and never had a hit off Kenny Rogers.

Once the Texas starter was gone, Jones twice came up big for the Twins.

Jones scored the tying run after a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning and hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the 11th Saturday to give the Twins a 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers that stopped a three-game losing streak.

“Kenny Rogers is not the guy he likes to face very often, so we sat him out. But he was ready to play,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We’ve lost a lot of people, and Jacque is one guy who needs to step up. … Hopefully, that’s a good start for him to get on a roll.”

Over his previous 14 games, Jones had hit just .145 (8-for-55). Plus, he was 0-for-14 in his career off the Rangers’ 40-year-old left-hander.

“You almost know he’s going to break out, that he’s going to come up with huge hits for us,” said Joe Nathan, who worked two scoreless innings for the victory. “No matter how he’s swinging the bat, at any moment he can put a good stroke on the ball and do what he did.”

Jones, who has a home in the Dallas area, left the clubhouse before reporters were allowed in after the game.

Rogers pitched six scoreless innings in his first start at home since serving a 13-game suspension for shoving two TV cameramen. He had lost three straight starts on the road since being reinstated and has made six starts since his last victory July 16.

Nathan (6-3) overcame a leadoff double in the ninth and hasn’t allowed a run in 17 innings over 15 appearances since the All-Star break.

Minnesota's Jacque Jones, left, is congratulated by Mike Redmond after hitting a two-run, 11th-inning home run against Texas. The Twins defeated the Rangers, 7-2, Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

After Justin Morneau drew a leadoff walk in the 11th and advanced on Lew Ford’s sacrifice bunt, Jones hit his 19th homer off Brian Shouse (2-2). Nick Punto added an RBI single, and pinch-hitter Michael Ryan hit a two-run single off Steve Karsay.

White Sox 4, Mariners 3

Seattle – Jose Contreras pitched into the eighth inning, and Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer, leading Chicago past Seattle. The AL Central-leading White Sox won their fourth in a row and beat the last-place Mariners for the sixth time in eight games this season.

Tigers 12, Red Sox 8

Boston – Dmitri Young hit a grand slam, and Brandon Inge added three hits as Detroit rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Red Sox and send Boston to its first home loss in 15 games.

Devil Rays 6, Angels 3

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Jorge Cantu and Pete Laforest hit two-run homers, leading Tampa Bay over Los Angeles. Casey Kotchman homered for the AL West-leading Angels, who had their division lead cut to a half-game over Oakland, which won, 12-3, at Baltimore.

Blue Jays 2, Indians 1

Toronto – Scott Downs combined with three relievers on a five-hitter to lead Toronto over Cleveland. Cleveland, which had won eight of its previous nine, managed just an unearned run and dropped one game back in the AL wild-card race.

Athletics 12, Orioles 3

Baltimore – Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez hit successive homers in a seven-run third inning, and Oakland used a 15-hit attack to beat Baltimore.