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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