Wild pitch in the 9th lifts Athletics past Twins 7-6

<p>MINNEAPOLIS &mdash; Matt Chapman had three hits and three RBIs and Ramón Laureano scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning Sunday as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-6.</p>
<p>Laureano hit a one-out single off reliever Taylor Rogers (0-2) in the ninth. Matt Olson followed with a grounder back to the mound, but Rogers’ throw skipped off the glove of third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was covering second due to an infield shift.</p>
<p>Laureano advanced to third on the play and scored when Chapman struck out, as the third strike skipped to the backstop.</p>
<p>Lou Trivino (2-1) got four outs to earn the victory for the A’s, who went 4-2 on their trip to Boston and Target Field.</p>
<p>Andrelton Simmons tied it for Minnesota in the eighth with a two-out, two-run homer off reliever Jake Diekman. </p>
<p>Max Kepler homered, doubled and drove in four runs while Trevor Larnach had three singles for the Twins, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.</p>
<p>Twins starter Kenta Maeda gave up three earned runs and eight hits. He left the game after giving up four straight hits to start the fifth inning.</p>
<p>Chris Bassitt went five innings for the A’s, giving up four earned runs and five hits.</p>
<p>Bassitt entered the game tied for the AL lead with five hit batters, and the trend continued when he plunked two Twins in the second inning. After Trevor Larnach’s one-out single, Bassitt hit Miguel Sanó on the hand. </p>
<p>Kepler followed with his fourth home run of the season to put the Twins on top 3-1.</p>
<p>Bassitt then hit Willians Astudillo and walked Simmons, but Laureano bailed him out with a diving catch of Luis Arraez’s sinking line drive in left-center field.</p>
<p>Kepler drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the third. Plate umpire John Libka initially ruled Jorge Polanco out at the plate on Laureano’s throw, but after review the call was reversed.</p>
<p>The A’s struck back with four runs in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Chad Pinder led off with a double and scored on Sean Murphy’s singles. Hits by Elvis Andrus and Mark Canha chased Maeda.</p>
<p>The inning hinged on an obstruction call against Twins catcher Ben Rortvedt, who bumped into Andrus during a rundown between third and home. That tied the game, and Chapman later drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.</p>
<p>Oakland tacked on another run in the seventh when Chapman’s infield single scored Seth Brown.</p>
<p>TRAINER’S ROOM</p>
<p>Athletics: 1B Mitch Moreland (side) missed his second straight game. A’s manager Bob Melvin said his status would be re-evaluated after Monday’s off day.</p>
<p>Twins: Astudillo, who was hit on the hand by a pitch in the second inning, left the game after the third inning with a hand contusion.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (3-2, 4.40 ERA) will take the mound Tuesday as Oakland hosts Houston to open a three-game series.</p>
<p>Twins: LHP J.A. Happ (2-1, 4.26) will pitch for the Twins in Monday’s series opener against the White Sox at Target Field.</p>
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