Vogt's walk-off lifts A's over Twins in 10th
OAKLAND -- Stephen Vogt's walk-off single against Twins right-hander Casey Fien in the 10th inning gave the A's a 3-2 victory at the Coliseum on Saturday night.
It was the second walk-off win of the season for the A's, who watched speedster Billy Burns lead off the inning with a double and steal third in advance of Vogt's first career regular-season walk-off hit.
"He made that inning happen," Vogt said. "What a great at-bat to battle and get the hustle double and take third. That was huge, giving us three chances to get him in from third. He's the Rookie of the Year so far this year, and he's not getting the recognition that he should be nationally, because he's been probably our most consistent player all year and he's doing it as a rookie."
The A's, who got 8 1/3 innings from Scott Kazmir, held a 1-0 lead entering the ninth, when the Twins got a game-tying double from Joe Mauer and a go-ahead sacrifice fly off the bat of Miguel Sano against Tyler Clippard. Oakland responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game on Jake Smolinski's base hit off closer Glen Perkins, who had converted each of his previous 29 save opportunities.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Offense comes alive: Vogt's walk-off hit capped an encouraging offensive night for the A's, who ran their scoreless-innings streak to 20 before Billy Butler launched his eighth home run of the season in the seventh, a solo shot against Phil Hughes. Butler improved to 11-for-36 lifetime against Hughes. Smolinski's game-tying hit helped his new club avoid its 23rd one-run loss of the season, and the clutch hitting continued in the 10th with Burns and Vogt's heroics. More >
"This team's resilient and we pick each other up no matter what," Vogt said, "and I think a win like tonight can propel us to play the way we know how to play for a while."
Video: MIN@OAK: Butler hits solo shot to break scoreless tie
Twins rally late but fall short: Minnesota couldn't get anything going offensively, but Brian Dozier sparked a ninth-inning rally by reaching on a one-out infield single and advancing to second on a throwing error from Brett Lawrie. Clippard came in and plunked Torii Hunter on an 0-2 pitch that set the stage for Mauer's game-tying RBI double off the wall in right field. Sano gave the Twins the lead with a sacrifice fly to right.
Video: MIN@OAK: Sano lifts a go-ahead sac fly in the 9th
"We found a way to rally there," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Kazmir was in there and there was a misplay in the hole that give us life. Joe had a really good at-bat and then Sano had the sac fly. But I feel bad for Perk because that's a tough way to have a pretty impressive streak to end."
Twins can't cash in early: The Twins loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning, but couldn't scratch a run across against Kazmir. Sano struck out before Trevor Plouffe grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Kazmir cruises: Kazmir endured a 25-pitch first inning but worked his way out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam and hit cruise control thereafter. The lefty faced the minimum in each of his next seven innings, with help from two double plays, and allowed just two hits with no walks in that span. Before he was touched for a ninth-inning run, Kazmir had not allowed an earned run in his previous 20 innings, dating to June 27. More >
Video: MIN@OAK: Kazmir gets double play to end the threat
QUOTABLE
"I always said if I get beat, I want them to hit a ball in the gap or hit a home run. But I put myself in that spot and I didn't work my way out this time. It was bound to happen. I've said all along I'm going to blow a save. I'm going to blow more than one. I've got to be able to bounce back. I'd love nothing more than to get the ball tomorrow and win a series." -- Perkins More >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Hughes has served up a Major League-high 23 homers this season, but the last 10 he's allowed have been solo shots, including Butler's in the seventh inning.
WHAT'S NEXT
Twins: Left-hander Tommy Milone makes his return to Oakland to start the series finale on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. CT. Milone, who pitched with the A's from 2012-14, has turned in six straight quality starts with a 1.62 ERA over that span.
A's: Jesse Chavez gets the ball for Sunday's 1:05 p.m. PT series finale against the Twins at the Coliseum. The A's right-hander is 2-4 with a 5.27 ERA over his last seven starts after posting a 2.38 ERA over his first eight starts.
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