Minnesota Twins beat Oakland Athletics 5-4 to snap losing streak – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins snapped their five-game losing streak with a 5-4 win against Oakland Athletics at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, May 28 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Ron Gardenhire and company finally managed to find winning ways at their home ballpark as they clinched a narrow 5-4 to take 1-0 lead the series. Credit should go to Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit for holding their nerves in closing stages of the game.
Josh Reddick gave an excellent start to the Athletics with a towering home-run in the first inning. Kila Ka’aihue doubled Oakland’s advantage to 2-0 in the second inning as he homered to right field. Trevor Plouffe had another excellent outing as he played a key role in deciding the outcome of the clash. He homered to left in the fifth to bring the Twins right back into the contest.
"There's not a bigger competitor on this team than Capps, and no one wants to win more. There's not a better teammate, either. When he has a game like this we're all cheering for him, and when he has a game like yesterday we all feel for him," said designated hitter Ryan Doumit with a smile on his face.
"We feel comfortable with him on the mound. He's a guy with guts," Morneau said is a post game interview. "It's disappointing to see that sometimes, but obviously people's expectations are high, just as ours are."
Brandon Inge also showed some signs of form as he grounded into double play in the sixth to extend Oakland’s lead to 3-1 but the Twins continued to fight back, thanks to Josh Willingham who earned an RBI double in the sixth. Morneau hit a sacrifice fly to left in the same inning to level score 1-1 as they game entered an exciting phase.
Doumit drove in the tie-breaking run in the eighth and the Twins took a crucial 5-4 lead. Oakland’s starting pitcher Travis Blackley gave just one run on three hits in his first major league start in almost five years.
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