Max Kepler belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning and hit a walk-off RBI single in the 10th to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 6–5 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday in Minneapolis.
Kepler finished 3-for-4 for the Twins, who have won the first two games of the four-game series and three straight overall. Byron Buxton and Carlos Santana notched one RBI apiece.
Shea Langeliers hit a grand slam in a losing effort for the Athletics. Brent Rooker added an RBI, but Oakland dropped its seventh game in a row.
Twins right-hander Jhoan Duran (2–2) earned the victory with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Athletics left-hander Scott Alexander (0–2) allowed an unearned run in the 10th.
Langeliers gave the Athletics a 4–0 lead in the first. He stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, and he hit the first pitch he saw from Simeon Woods Richardson an estimated 408 feet to left-center field.
The blast marked Langeliers’ 13th homer of the season and his first since May 30 against the Tampa Bay Rays. It also was his first career grand slam in 237 big-league games.
The Twins cut the deficit to 4–1 in the second. Buxton hit a two-out RBI triple off the wall in center field to score Santana from first base.
In the sixth, Minnesota pulled even at 4–4. Willi Castro and Carlos Correa singled, and Kepler brought them home with a three-run blast to center off Mitch Spence for his fifth homer.
The Athletics regained a 5–4 edge in the seventh on Rooker’s RBI triple to right. Rooker drove in JJ Bleday, who was hit by a pitch in the previous plate appearance.
Minnesota had a prime opportunity to grab the lead in the eighth. The Twins loaded the bases with one out, and Santana drew a walk to force in a run and even the score at 5–5.
Buxton grounded into a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat as Oakland got the force out at home plate. With the bases loaded and two outs, Manuel Margot flied out to center to end the inning.
Woods Richardson gave up four runs in four innings, while Spence yielded four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
