Twins starter José Ureña (0–1) ran into trouble in the second after two quick outs. A hit-by-pitch and a pair of basehits loaded the bases for Lawrence Butler, who cleared them with a double to left. Oakland added three more runs in the frame, building a 6–0 lead the Twins couldn’t recover from. The Twins couldn’t even get halfway there.

In a 4-2 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday, the lasting image may be Twins reliever Génesis Cabrera punching his glove after giving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Shea Langeliers to begin the 10th inning.

The Minnesota Twins came into Thursday’s matinee desperate to avoid a sweep against the cellar-dwelling Oakland West Sacramento Athletics. Instead, they fell flat, undone by one disastrous inning and a sputtering offense in an 8–3 loss at Target Field.

Tyler Soderstrom went 4 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 19 games and the Athletics swept the Minnesota Twins with an 8-3 victory.

Royce Lewis, batting just .199 at Target Field, .175 in August, and .136 during this homestand, was robbed of a potential extra-base hit by A’s left-fielder Tyler Soderstrom in the sixth inning Thursday, and took it out on his headwear when he reached the dugout, pounding it several times against the bat rack in frustration.

An influx of talented arms would be a welcome sight for the struggling Twins, who dropped six of seven contests during their homestand.

After taking the series opener in Minnesota last night the A’s will try to make it two in a row over the Twins, looking to both inch closer to 60 wins while burying the Twins’ dwindling playoff chances.

The A’s built a big lead with a three-run fourth inning, and the Twins couldn’t rally despite home runs from Brooks Lee and Ryan Jeffers.