"The last time Joe Mauer hit a home run, the Twins were 29 games over .500 and marching toward their sixth division championship in nine years, Brett Favre was the Vikings' starting quarterback, and Tim Pawlenty was Minnesota's governor.

So nothing really new going on Wednesday night when the Twins' $183 million enigma finally made the home run column in 2011 with a solo shot that ignited a 7-2 victory over Texas at Rangers Ballpark.

Mauer's line shot into the right-field seats ended a drought of 110 games and 183 at-bats since his last homer on Sept. 15 against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field.

Not only did it allow him to move the offensive needle more after a horrendous and injury-plagued first half, but Mauer's shot gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning and helped them win their second straight over the hard-hitting Rangers after getting pummeled 20-6 in the series opener.

"I hit it well," Mauer said. "It was a fastball down and in, and I was able to put a good swing on it. It was good to get the lead right away against a team like that."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Mauer was "smiling ear to ear" when he returned to the dugout, and no wonder. "