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Minnesota Twins: Home-run Derby Comes Early in Win Over Athletics

By Jordan Ison

May 2, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) hits a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) hits a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Minnesota Twins got their bats rolling against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night. In fact, every run they scored, besides one, was via the home-run.

The Minnesota Twins had a day off on Monday, and they must have done something right. Everything seemed to be working for the Twins in game 1 against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night.

It’s always a good sign when Ervin Santana is on the hump, as the veteran pitcher was 4-0 with an ERA under 1.00 coming into Tuesday’s game. Santana definitely did not disappoint, but it always makes it easier when your offense puts up huge numbers like the Twins did last night.

Speaking of the offense, the Twins put on a show at Target Field in the opening game against the Athletics. It looked like an early home-run derby as the Minnesota Twins hit a season-high six home-runs in the 9-1 victory.

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The Pitching

Ervin Santana put in another phenomenal pitching performance in Tuesday’s game. He went 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, no earned runs and 7 strikeouts. It was also good to see the Twins not over-working the veteran right-hander, pulling him after only 6 innings. We need his quality starts for the rest of the year.

Following up Santana was Tyler Duffey. With such a hard task as following him up, Duffey succeeded as well. He went for two innings, only giving up one hit and no runs. He also struck out three batters.

Finally, Michael Tonkin closed the game out for the Minnesota Twins. He pitched just one inning, allowing a home-run to Yonder Alonso. This turned out to be the only run in the game for the Oakland Athletics.

The Hitting

The offensive performance by the Twins is what made this game so fun to watch. It seemed as if there was a home-run hit every time a pitch was thrown. The night started off with 2 outs in the 3rd inning and Dozier at the plate.

Brian Dozier goes yard in the 3rd inning for his 3rd home-run of the season. This was quickly followed up by another Miguel Sano home-run in the 3rd inning, his 8th of the season and 3rd in as many games.

The score was 3-0 heading into the 4th, when Jason Castro had something to say about it. He hit his 3rd home-run of the season with one out in the inning. The score was then 4-0.

Skip to the 7th inning, a huge one for Minnesota Twins’ fans everywhere. Why? Byron Buxton finally gets his first home-run of the season! With one out in the inning, Buxton sends the solo shot out to left-center. That wasn’t the only home-run of the inning, though, as Brian Dozier hit his second of the game and Joe Mauer hit his first one of the season with two outs in the 7th.

Finally, the final run was scored for the Twins when Buxton grounded to third and brought in Jorge Polanco. Oakland got a home-run in the top of the 9th, but the game was long gone by then. The Minnesota Twins had won the game, 9-1.

In Conclusion

That kind of offensive performance is exactly what the Twins need heading into this stretch of games. They have a winning record again, and now sit at 13-11. Byron Buxton said that he feels more relaxed at the plate, and it’s safe to say the entire team does as well.

Next: 5 Bold Predictions for the Next 5 Seasons

This Minnesota Twins team is a lot more fun to watch than other’s in the past. Their offense is clicking, their defense is dynamic and the pitching has been precise. This kind of production could very well lead to great things for this 2017 team.

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