Twins Vs. Athletics Final Score: Minnesota Swept By Oakland To Kick Off Season's 2nd Half

The Minnesota Twins dropped their fifth consecutive game on Sunday afternoon, as the Oakland Athletics pulled off a thorough three-game sweep with a 9-4 win.

Much like the previous two contests earlier in the series, the Twins fared quite well against Oakland pitching with 10 hits on Sunday. But climbing out of an early hole created by starting pitcher Brian Duensing, who gave up six earned runs in just two innings, proved to be too difficult for Ron Gardenhire's team in the middle innings.

Although the Twins racked up 33 hits during the series, the exact same number Oakland produced, doing something tangible with those runners in scoring position has been a lost art for Minnesota hitters as of late. Just 17-28 at Target Field this year, the Twins will play host to the Baltimore Orioles for a four-game series starting on Monday.

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Twins Vs. Athletics: Brian Duensing Knocked Out Early

The Minnesota Twins second half woes didn't get any better on Sunday as a poor start from Brian Duensing found them behind early. Duensing was lifted from the game after allowing six runs and seven hits in two innings.

The Twins trail the Oakland Athletics, 6-2, after four innings.

Duensing allowed three home runs to the Athletics in the second inning. Jonny Gomes, Yoenis Cespedes and Chris Carter all took the Twins starter deep.

Casey Fien came on in relief for Duensing.

The Twins scored their two runs when Josh Willingham had an RBI on an error in the first inning and when Alexi Casilla hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

A loss on Sunday would mean that Oakland swept Minnesota.

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Twins Vs. Athletics: Lineups Announced For Sunday

The Minnesota Twins started the second half of the season playing like they did for most of the first half. Unless they can put things together on Sunday, they will be swept by Oakland at home.

Here are the lineups for Sunday's game:

Oakland Athletics

Twins Vs. Athletics: Minnesota Tries To Avert Oakland Sweep

The Minnesota Twins turn to Brian Duensing as they try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics to open the second half.

Oakland took a 9-3 victory Saturday, as Twins starter Cole De Vries allowed seven earned runs to one of baseball's weakest offenses.

Duensing (1-5, 4.11 ERA) will be making just his fourth start of the 2012 season for Minnesota, though he has not pitched since taking an Alex Avila line drive off the ankle during a July 4 outing against Detroit.

Meanwhile, the A's will send rookie righty Jarrod Parker (5-4, 2.86 ERA) to the mound in search of his sixth win. Opponents are hitting just .216 off Parker, and he's sixth among American League rookie pitchers with 67 strikeouts.

Oakland has won eight of its last nine games, thanks mostly to a starting rotation with the best ERA (3.70) in Major League Baseball.

The Twins will need Brian Duensing to be sharp against a hot offense with a sparkling rookie pitcher opposing him.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm CT from Target Field.

For more on the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town, and for more on the Oakland A's, head over to Athletics Nation. Check out SBNation's MLB page for all your news and analysis.

Twins Vs. Athletics Final Score: Oakland Topples Minnesota For 2nd Straight Day, 9-3

Despite racking up 14 hits against Oakland pitchers, the Minnesota Twins still could not find a way to get runs across the plate on Saturday in a frustrating 9-3 loss.

Already off to a rough start to kick off the second half of the season, the Twins actually received a hit from every single starter in the six-run loss. While Ron Gardenhire's team was able to make consistent contact versus a usually stout Athletics pitching staff, the Achilles' heel came in the fact that they left a whopping 12 men on base throughout the evening and routinely failed to move runners over in sacrifice situations.

Leadoff hitter Denard Span powered the offense with a 3-for-5 performance, while outfielder Josh Willingham also had a strong night by smacking out his 22nd home run of the year. Starter Cole De Vries earned every last bit of his second career defeat however, as the young hurler was tattooed for seven earned runs (and three homers) in just five innings.

Desperate to avoid losing three straight games before memories of the the All-Star break can even fade away, the Twins will hope for a big outing from spot-starter Brian Duensing in Sunday's series finale.

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Francisco Liriano Diagnosed With Mental Vulnerability By Jim Souhan

MLB Trade Rumors: Time To Move Francisco Liriano?

Francisco Liriano was masterful against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night, with his career-high 15 strikeoutsbefore giving up a grand slam that essentially buried the Minnesota Twins. As unfortunate as that may have been for the team, it was also a carry over of how good Liriano has been lately, which is leading some experts to speculate on how much longer before the Twins trade him away.

Over his last nine starts, Francisco Liriano has a 2.82 ERA, with 67 Ks in 57.1 IP. Rival execs think MIN will trade him; now's the time.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 14, 2012

Minnesota isn't going to do anything significant this season, so trading Liriano for something good would obviously make sense. And with all that recent success, you'd have to expect him to be appealing to a team that feels they're just a Liriano away from contention.

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Twins Vs. Athletics: Saturday Game Preview, TV Info And More

The Minnesota Twins look to rebound Saturday from a disappointing loss to the Oakland Athletics on Friday night in the first game back from the All-Star break. Minnesota was in a good position to win, with Francisco Liriano giving a brilliant 15-strikeout performance, but he also gave up a critical home run that ultimately decided the outcome of the game.

As it was noted, one inning and a lack of run support marred what was otherwise a wonderful night for Liriano.

The Twins are currently in last place in the NL Central and have dropped their last three games, while the As have won seven of their last 10 games.

Take a look here at the schedule and broadcast information for Saturday's game:

Date/Time: Saturday, July 14, 7:10 ET

TV: CSCA, FSNO

Online streaming: MLB.tv

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Twins Vs. Athletics Final Score: Francisco Liriano Strikes Out 15, Gives Up Grand Slam In 6-3 Loss

The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 6-3 on Friday night, but the A's were not the real story here. Francisco Liriano, whose name keeps popping up in trade rumors, set a new career-high with 15 strikeouts. One inning and a lack of run support marred what was otherwise a solid night on the mound.

Liriano was cruising, striking out nine of the first 10 batters he faced before hitting a rough patch in the fourth inning. With the Twins leading 1-0, the left-handed pitcher gave up a grand slam to Jonny Gomes. One bad inning, one iffy pitch really, will be easily overlooked by teams hunting for pitching help.

Josh Willingham lent his starting pitcher a hand in the bottom of the fourth. The Twins outfielder hit his second home run of the game, sending Joe Mauer home to put the Twins within one. Willingham now has 21 homers for the season.

Still trailing by one in the top of the ninth, Alex Burnett gave up two more runs to buy Oakland some insurance.

The Twins, now 11.5 games out of first place in the AL Central, try again on Saturday at 7:10 p.m.

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Twins Vs. Athletics Update: Scouts In The House With Francisco Liriano Pitching

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano was pitching a certified gem of a game on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics. He started the fourth inning by allowing a single before striking out his ninth batter. Then the trouble started.

A Denard Span throwing error put a runner on base Liriano then issued his first walk of the night, to Chris Carter. With the bases loaded Jonny Gomes took him to left field, making it a 4-1 game. He ended the inning with his 10th strike out.

So much for timing for Liriano and the Twins. The pitcher has been the subject of trade rumors recently, with the Twins 11 games out of the AL Central lead, and some notable visitors were at Target Field for the game. According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune some scouts were in attendance:

Liriano's first trip through the batting order produces seven strikeouts...with Yankees and Mets scouts in attendance.

— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) July 14, 2012

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Twins Vs. Athletics: Starting Lineups For Friday's Opener

Seeking to pull themselves out of last place in the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins will open the second half of their schedule with a manageable three-game set at home with the Oakland Athletics.

The Twins will have the unfortunate task of facing promising Oakland right-hander A.J. Griffin, a 24-year-old hurler who starred at the University of San Diego and broke into the big leagues less than a month ago. Griffin not only has posted three consecutive six-inning starts to open his MLB career, but has yielded a grand total of nine hits and five walks through 18 innings, good enough for a sparkling 0.78 WHIP.

Manager Ron Gardnehire will opt to break the series with starter Francisco Liriano in game one, in a clear vote of confidence for the talented yet inconsistent left-hander. Though he has lowered his brutal early season ERA by more than two runs since rejoining the rotation, Liriano's 10 walks in his last two first half apperances could be a sign of things to come.

Here are the starting lineups for Friday:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - DH
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
7. Brian Dozier - SS
8. Drew Butera - C
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Francisco Liriano - SP

Athletics
1. Coco Crisp - CF
2. Jemile Weeks - 2B
3. Josh Reddick - RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes - DH
5. Chris Carter - 1B
6. Jonny Gomes - LF
7. Derek Norris - C
8. Brandon Inge - 3B
9. Brandon Hicks - SS
A.J. Griffin - SP

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more A's coverage, visit Athletics Nation. And for the best MLB analysis on the web, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Athletics: Minnesota Kicks Off Season's Second Half Following All-Star Break

The Oakland Athletics will head to Target Field to face the Minnesota Twins in both teams' first series following the All-Star Break.