Justin Morneau hit another home run, Boof Bonser survived five rocky innings, and Joe Nathan earned his first save since May 5 — the hard way – as the Twins defeated Texas 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Nathan gave up a leadoff single to Mark Teixeira to start the ninth inning. Victor Diaz grounded into a double play on the next pitch, but it provided another scary moment for the Twins. Diaz broke his bat, and the barrel went twirling toward the mound, striking Nathan on the right calf. He dropped his glove and hobbled around the infield. Manager Ron Gardenhire, pitching coach Rick Anderson and trainer Rick McWane went to the mound before Nathan waved them off.

Then, Torii Hunter had a mishap. With two outs in the ninth, he tried tracking a long fly ball from Nelson Cruz toward the right-center field wall, but the ball bounced off his glove for a double. Nathan walked Ian Kinsler, and Sammy Sosa came to the plate as a pinch hitter, representing the potential winning run. Nathan struck out Sosa with a nasty slider, capping a dramatic six-pitch at-bat. 

The win gave the Twins a 4-5 record on a road trip that started with three losses in Cleveland. During the trip, the Twins lost relievers Jesse Crain, Dennys Reyes and Glen Perkins to shoulder injuries, but they took 2 of 3 in Milwaukee and Texas after going 2-8-2 in their pevious 12 series.

Wednesday’s highlights:

Offense: Hunter’s two-out, run-scoring single in the first inning gave him 40 RBI for the year. Morneau’s homer, leading off the third inning, was his 14th of the season, fifth of the road trip and third in the past two games. Luis Castillo singled his first three times to the plate. Rangers starter Robinson Tejeda (4-4) had 49 pitches the first time through the Twins’ order.

Pitching: Boof Bonser is 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in his past six starts, but he struggled with his command this time. The big inning was the third, when four of the first five hitters reached base. Bonser (3-1) allowed one run that inning but struck out Ian Kinsler with a 93-mph fastball for a huge second out and then got Ramon Vazquez to ground out to end the inning. Matt Guerrier, who has quietly become an essential member of the bullpen, pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Juan Rincon gave up three singles before Pat Neshek came on to retire Michael Young to end the eighth inning.

Defense: The play of the game was Hunter’s catch in the right-center field gap to end the fourth inning. Hunter sprinted, jumped, caught the ball and crashed into the wall, robbing Michael Young of extra bases.

Up Next: Scott Baker pitches Friday, when the Twins begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays. Toronto’s scheduled starters for the series are Jesse Litsch, Tomo Ohka and A.J. Burnett.

I got pretty worked up late last night over the possibility of pushing Ramon Ortiz’s next start back three days. Not going to happen. Gardy said they’re going to keep the rotation in line for now. Ortiz had a good bullpen session Tuesday. Joe Mauer raved about it. So the rotation stays the same for now, but I believe Ortiz will be out of the starting rotation if he continues his May struggles on Saturday against Toronto.

 It’s possible Mauer could return by Monday, for the start of the White Sox series, Gardenhire said. I’m watching the batting champ take BP right now, actually, and he just smoked a Steve Liddle pitch into the right-field upper deck. More on that in my notebook for tomorrow. … Huge start for Boof today in the rubber game against Texas. Twins are 3-8-2 in their past 13 series.

Twins lineup: Luis Castillo 2B, Jason Tyner DH, Michael Cuddyer RF, Justin Morneau 1B, Torii Hunter CF, Jason Kubel LF, Luis Rodriguez 3B, Chris Heintz C, Nick Punto SS. Starting pitcher: Boof Bonser.

Rangers lineup: Kenny Lofton CF, Michael Young SS, Mark Teixeira DH, Victor Diaz RF, Nelson Cruz LF, Ian Kinsler 2B, Ramon Vazquez 3B, Matt Kata 1B, Chris Stewart C. Starting pitcher: Robinson Tejeda.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Scheduled first pitch: 1:05 p.m.

There will be a pregame press briefing in Ron Gardenhire’s office tomorrow morning, and it’s usually an easygoing affair. Gardy often starts by saying, “OK … any fireballs?” That’s our cue to start firing questions. And I’m teeing mine up right here tonight: “Are the Twins ready to skip Ramon Ortiz?”

The Twins have an open date Thursday, and I saw some signs today that Ortiz could be skipped. First, here’s a segment from my Twins’ notebook:

Asked about the recent bullpen injuries, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan pointed to the starters and their inability to chew up innings.

“One of the problems you have is you’re getting into your bullpen way too early,” Ryan said. “If we’ve got problems we’ll fix them.”

Ryan didn’t name names, but in his past four starts, Ramon Ortiz has lasted 4, 6, 1 and 41/3 innings.

Gardenhire also gave an interesting answer when asked if the team would consider using Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey to patch their bullpen holes.

“They will not go to the bullpen,” Gardenhire said. “They’re close to being ready to pitch up here, and if we keep struggling in our rotation, we can make a move like that, move one of those guys.”

OK, if you read between the lines, you can tell Ortiz is on a short leash. So why not skip him this time through the rotation? Well, the Twins were concerned with how worn down Santana was last September. They were determined to use the open dates to give him extra rest whenever possible, even if that meant sticking with other struggling starters.

But Santana’s last two starts have been brilliant. Seven innings, four hits, two runs, 11 strikeouts at Cleveland last Thursday. Then, seven innings, four hits, one run, 13 strikeouts tonight. That’s 24 strikeouts and the second outing came with the usual four day’s rest.

In the words of Sir Johan himself tonight, he said, ““It feels like we are getting to a point of the season where we’re more consistent. This start came up quicker because of no days off, so you keep everything going. The more you’re out there, the more you’re going to be comfortable, and the more you’re going to realize where your mechanics are for all your pitches.”

Santana said he did not know when his next start would come. It all revolves around him. The Twins will probably check to see how he’s feeling in the morning. If he seems ready to take the ball again Sunday against Toronto, I’m guessing they’ll announce plans to push Ortiz’s start to next Tuesday against Chicago. That’s the next time a fifth starter is needed, but they’ll couch it, saying this gives Ortiz “more time to work on his mechanics in the bullpen.”

Yeah, well maybe. If Ortiz doesn’t get himself straightened out, I see him going to the bullpen or possibly going the way of Sidney Ponson. With another open date next Thursday, the rotation should be juggled so Santana can stay on regular rest again, starting June 1 against Oakland.

If this team wants to signal it’s serious about turning the corner, this is the natural move to make. So that’s my Wednesday morning fireball for Gardy.

Jason Bartlett is getting another day off, presumably to rest his sore neck and shoulder. Jason Kubel, not Lew Ford, is in left field. Justin Morneau is the DH, and Jeff Cirillo is playing first base. … Also, I saw Joe Mauer wearing shin guards, playing long toss with Ramon Ortiz before the game. If Mauer proceeds to catch Ortiz in his bullpen session, that will be seen as a very positive development for the Twins.

Update: Dennys Reyes will be re-examined on Thursday, and Gardenhire said he’ll probably wind up on the DL, after all. He’ll likely need a cortisone injection, and at that point, he’ll have to miss another three or four games. Gardenhire mentioned LHP Jason Miller as the guy who could be in line next for a promotion to the majors. … Mauer did catch that bullpen session, another positive step, though he said he still feels the quad muscle when he runs. … Bartlett is going to see the doctor on Thursday, too. This thing with his neck sounds more serious than a couple days. … The hits keep coming. Our Twins notebook will be overflowing, so check for that later.

Twins lineup: Luis Castillo 2B, Jeff Cirillo 1B, Michael Cuddyer RF, Justin Morneau DH, Torii Hunter CF, Mike Redmond C, Jason Kubel LF, Luis Rodriguez 3B, Nick Punto SS. Starting pitcher: Johan Santana.

Rangers lineup: Ian Kinsler 2B, Michael Young SS, Mark Teixeira 1B, Sammy Sosa DH, Victor Diaz RF, Nelson Cruz LF, Gerald Laird C, Matt Kata 3B, Kevin Mahar CF. Starting pitcher: Kameron Loe.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Scheduled first pitch: 7:05 p.m.

We interrupt this string of bad news on the injury front to bring you a Matt Garza update. He pitched well today in a 2-0 loss against Class AAA Norfolk. Garza’s line: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. He fell to 2-4 with a 3.49 ERA.