ARLINGTON, Texas (Interstat) — Zebby Matthews allowed his only run on a leadoff homer while pitching seven innings for the Minnesota Twins in a 4-1 win Tuesday night over the Texas Rangers, who lost their eighth game in a row and were eliminated from the playoff chase.

The Rangers were within two games of the AL West lead on Sept. 13 and in the thick of the wild-card chase after a 13-3 span with a pair of six-game winning streaks. They haven’t won since and dropped to 5 1/2 games behind Houston for the American League’s final playoff spot with five games left.

Joc Pederson’s ninth homer gave Texas the quick lead. Matthews allowed only three singles after that and struck out six without a walk while matching the longest of his 25 career starts.

The right-hander improved to 5-6. Cole Sands worked a perfect ninth for his third save, sealing the victory before an announced crowd of 24,674 at Globe Life Field in a game that took 3 hours, 2 minutes.

Patrick Corbin took the loss for Texas, falling to 7-11 after allowing two runs on four hits over 3 2/3 innings.

The Twins broke through against Corbin in the third inning. Kody Clemens led off with a double and scored when Byron Buxton grounded into a forceout. Buxton then scored on Ryan Jeffers’ RBI single to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead.

Minnesota added two more runs in the sixth off reliever Cole Winn. A walk to Carson McCusker and a single by Brooks Lee set the table. Clemens delivered an RBI single to score one run, and Austin Martin grounded into a forceout to bring home another, extending the lead to 4-1.

The Twins’ bullpen preserved the lead, with Kody Funderburk striking out two in a scoreless eighth before Sands closed it out. The Rangers managed just four hits total and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

The result defied pregame projections, as Interstat’s game simulator had forecast a 4-3 Texas victory and its ELO system gave the Rangers a 63.1 percent probability to win. The total score of five also went well under the over/under line of 8.5.

With the win, Minnesota improved to 68-89 on the season. Texas fell to 79-78, mathematically ending its postseason hopes. The two teams are scheduled to meet again Wednesday and Thursday to conclude their three-game series.