Athletics 7 - 8 Twins
Final
  for this game

Hunter, Twins edge A's

May 5, 2015 - 5:09 AM Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Torii Hunter's go-ahead three-run homer highlighted a four-run bottom of the sixth inning as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Oakland Athletics 8-7 in the opener of a four-game set.

Jordan Schafer went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Eduardo Escobar posted three hits and scored twice for the Twins, who have won five straight and six of their last seven games.

Phil Hughes (1-4) got the win despite surrendering five runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings.

"After the first inning, I knew that no matter what I did after that it wasn't going to be pretty," said Hughes. "I just tried to eat some innings for us and keep us in the game."

Stephen Vogt hit a two-out RBI double to get the A's within 8-7 in the ninth, but Glen Perkins struck out Craig Gentry to end the game and notch his ninth save of the season.

"That's pretty much a microcosm of our season to this point," said A's manager Bob Melvin. "That ball wasn't quite hit hard enough, and we come up just short."

Vogt smacked a grand slam and Jesse Hahn (1-2) allowed six runs on 10 hits over five-plus frames for Oakland, which has dropped four of its last six games.

Kennys Vargas singled to begin the sixth and Escobar doubled to put runners on second and third. R.J. Alvarez replaced Hahn and served up an infield single to Schafer which plated Vargas.

A wild pitch moved Schafer to second. Danny Santana struck out and Brian Dozier flied out, but Hunter launched his three-run blast down the left-field line to make it an 8-5 game.

Mark Canha's RBI groundout in the eighth trimmed the deficit to 8-6.

The Twins loaded the bases with none away in the eighth, but Dozier fanned and Hunter rolled into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Vogt's grand slam to right in the opening frame staked the A's to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Twins got all four of those runs back in the second.

Schafer hit an RBI double, Santana bounced an infield run-scoring base hit to second and Dozier's two-run double to left knotted the contest.

Game Notes

The Twins placed outfielder Oswaldo Arcia on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a right hip flexor strain. Arcia suffered the injury in Sunday's win over the White Sox ... Vogt drove in five runs. He has seven homers and 25 RBI so far this season ... The Twins were 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Oakland finished 3-for-10.






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