Sanchez fell two outs shy of his second career no-hitter, but thanks to Mauer it was just another near miss this season. There have already been five one-hitters this year, according to STATS.

It was Sanchez’s second gem in about a month — he set a franchise record with 17 strikeouts in eight marvelous innings against Atlanta on April 26.

Sanchez (5-4) struck out 12 on Friday and allowed three walks. Mauer lined a clean hit up the middle.

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The Twins announced Friday afternoon they’ve called up pitcher Sam Deduno for their game against the Tigers. To make room for Deduno on the 25-man roster, the Twins placed pitcher Tim Wood on the 60-day disabled list.

Deduno made spot starts on the mound for the Twins last season and emerged as a starting pitcher early this year during the World Baseball Classic.

Immediately after the Twins’ 8-3 loss to the Braves on Thursday, their opening day starter Vance Worley was sent down to AAA Rochester.

Omar Infante started the inning with a single and was bunted to second by Torii Hunter. Ron Gardenhire then ordered Miguel Cabrera intentionally walked, but Fielder foiled the plan with a grounder that Burton (0-2) deflected past second baseman Brian Dozier.

Cabrera drove in three runs, including his sixth homer in four games. Cabrera has now matched a career high by homering in four straight games. He has also walked five times in the four games, and Fielder has followed all five with hits, driving in seven more runs.

Joaquin Benoit (1-0) pitched a perfect inning of relief, while Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

The Tigers trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, but scored three times off three Minnesota pitchers. Infante singled and Cabrera walked with one out, bringing Brian Duensing into the game. He allowed RBI singles to Fielder and Victor Martinez before giving way to Burton.

Jhonny Peralta greeted Burton with a tying double, and Matt Tuiasosopo was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Brayan Pena and Andy Dirks popped out to end the inning.

The Tigers had taken a 2-0 lead in the first when Cabrera lifted a 2-2 pitch into the bullpens beyond the left-field fence. It was the first of his six homers in four games that he had pulled – the others had all been to centerfield or right-center.

Rick Porcello almost got a second straight inning-ending double play in the second, but Jhonny Peralta juggled Dozier’s grounder and Dozier beat the relay throw to allow Justin Morneau to score.

Minnesota started the third with three straight singles, tying the game, and Josh Willingham made it 5-2 by pulling Porcello’s pitch deep into the left-field stands.

Scott Diamond retired 10 straight batters after Matt Tuiasosopo’s second-inning single, but Detroit loaded the bases with two out in the fifth on two singles and a walk. Cabrera bounced an infield single up the middle, making it 5-3, but Diamond got Prince Fielder to pop out and end the inning.

Detroit threatened again in the sixth, putting runners on second and third with two out, but former Tiger Casey Fien came on to strike out pinch-hitter Andy Dirks. Willingham then moved the lead to three runs with a solo homer off Darin Downs in the seventh.

NOTES: Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon left the game after the top of the third with an sprained right index finger. Florimon appeared to sustain the injury while sliding head-first into third base. … The fans broke into a chant of “Let’s Go Red Wings” in the top of the fifth inning as news spread that Detroit had taken a 1-0 lead over the Blackhawks in the second period of the playoff game. The hockey game was played at Joe Louis Arena, about five minutes from Comerica Park. … Cabrera also homered in four straight games with the Marlins in April 2004.

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The Braves stretched their winning streak to six games with their second straight series sweep, making things easy for starter Paul Maholm (6-4). The left-hander held the Twins to an unearned run in 7 1-3 innings.

With the Braves already leading 4-0, Gattis struck again less than 24 hours after his two-out, pinch-homer in the ninth allowed the Braves to pull out a 5-4 win over the Twins in extra innings.

He was swinging away on a 3-0 pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth and launched an opposite-field drive just inside the right-field pole for the 10th homer of his improbable debut season.

As Gattis rounded the bases, the theme from “The Natural” played over the speakers at Turner Field. In the Atlanta dugout, Upton looked on in disbelief, both arms in the air as if to say, “Is this really happening?”

Believe it. The 26-year-old Gattis made the team as a non-roster player in spring training after quitting baseball during college, working a variety of odd jobs, and dealing with bouts of depression that had him contemplating suicide. He still has a picture of his ID card from working as a janitor on his Twitter page.

He eventually returned to baseball after completing a spiritual journey. He got extensive playing time in April while the Braves battled injuries, earning the NL rookie of the month honors, and he’s making the most of his more limited chances in May.

Gattis’ dramatic homer Tuesday night was his third as a pinch-hitter, and it was the fourth time he’s hit a tying or go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later. He got the start at catcher for the series finale, giving Brian McCann the day off.

Vance Worley (1-5) had another dismal outing for Minnesota, failing to make it through the fourth as the Twins lost their eighth straight. He surrendered eight runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings, also hitting two batters and walking two more. His ERA climbed to 7.21, and it would’ have been worse if Pena had not been thrown out at the plate in the first attempting to score on a flyout to left fielder Josh Willingham.

As it was, Worley’s horrendous problems in the first continued when he surrendered two hits and a walk, including Jason Heyward’s run-scoring single. In 10 starts, the right-hander has allowed 17 runs and 24 hits in the opening inning.

Atlanta made it 3-0 in the third. Pena hit his second homer of the season and, after Worley plunked a pair of hitters, Chris Johnson came through with a two-out single to bring in another run.

Atlanta blew it open in the fourth. Upton, hitting just .153 coming in, led off with a homer into the seats in left-center. After Maholm’s flyout, Jordan Schafer singled, Heyward singled, Freddie Freeman walked and Gattis went deep to finish off the Twins.

Minnesota’s only run off Maholm came after Johnson’s error at third base set up Justin Morneau’s RBI single in the sixth.

Aaron Hicks and pinch-hitter Oswaldo Arcia homered in the ninth off Cory Rasmus, who made his major league debut.

NOTES: The Twins placed 3B Trevor Plouffe on the seven-day DL with a concussion. He took a blow to the head in the 10th inning of Tuesday night’s game while breaking up an attempted double play. … Minnesota called up former independent league star Chris Colabello, who was batting .358 at Triple-A Rochester and leading the International League with 12 homers and a .659 slugging percentage. Colabello got the news after midnight on a bus ride from Allentown back to Rochester, just made an early morning flight to Atlanta and was in the lineup for the 12:10 p.m. start, playing right field and batting sixth. He went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. … The Braves already have swept five series this season. … Rasmus is the younger brother of Toronto OF Colby Rasmus.

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The Twins made the move after placing infielder Trevor Plouffe in the seven-day disabled list with concussion symptoms. He had to leave the game Tuesday night in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Atlanta Braves after getting kicked in the head while trying to break up a double play.

They’ve also moved outfielder Darin Mastroianni on the 60-day disabled list. Mastroianni hasn’t played a game for the Twins yet this season after injuring his ankle in Spring Training.

Colabello is hitting .358 for Rochester with 12 home runs, 17 doubles and 39 RBI while playing first base.

Freeman blooped a two-out single off Brian Duensing (0-1) to bring home Jason Heyward, handing the Twins their seventh straight loss.

Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Doumit had RBI singles in the eighth against the depleted Atlanta bullpen, giving the Twins a 4-3 lead. They were one out away from snapping their slide when Gattis lined an 0-1 pitch from Glen Perkins deep into the left-field seats for his ninth homer of the season.

Craig Kimbrel (1-1) worked a scoreless 10th for the win.

Brian McCann homered and drove in two runs for the Braves, while Tim Hudson pitched five solid innings around a 1-hour, 26-minute rain delay — but they were afterthoughts after the dramatic comeback.

Gattis, who surprisingly made the team as a non-roster player and has been a key contributor as a 26-year-old rookie, kept the game going with his third pinch-hit homer of the season. Duensing got the first two hitters in the 10th, but Jason Heyward doubled off the wall in left-center. Justin Heyward was intentionally walked before Freeman came through on a 3-2 pitch.

The Braves bullpen, which lost two key relievers to season-ending surgeries in the past week, surrendered the lead in the eighth. Luis Avilan retired only one batter, giving up a hit and a walk.

Plouffe tied the game at 3 with a slow roller off Cory Gearrin that got through the hole between first and second. Doumit followed with another hit to right, this one much sharper, to put the Twins ahead.

Hudson gave up five hits and two runs while striking out five. He bounced back from two rough starts, having allowed 11 runs in 8 2-3 innings in losses at San Francisco and Arizona.

Anthony Swarzak pitched four solid innings in relief of Mike Pelphrey, who was lifted after a fierce storm suddenly popped up with the Twins batting in the third. The umpires wasted no time calling for the ground crew, which struggled to get the tarp over the infield amid blinding rain and whipping winds.

Then, as the storm began to break almost as quickly as it appeared, a power surge knocked out the lights and video board at Turner Field. The board came back on in a matter of seconds, but the lights took much longer to fire back up. Finally, the game resumed when the field was fully lit.

Hudson returned to the mound for the Braves and quickly gave up an RBI single to Justin Morneau, tying the game at 2.

Leading off the fourth, McCann lined a pitch off Swarzak into the right-field seats that put the Braves back on top. Anthony Varvaro threw two scoreless innings, but the bullpen that lost Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty couldn’t finish the job.

The Braves jumped ahead 2-0 in the first against Pelfrey. Heyward singled and came around to score on Freeman’s two-out double. McCann followed with a single that brought home Freeman.

Minnesota made it 2-1 in the second on Pedro Florimon’s RBI single.

Notes: The Twins will start RHP Samuel Deduno against the Tigers on Friday. He will take the spot previously held by LHP Pedro Hernandez, who was demoted to the minors on Monday. “He can wing it,” manager Ron Gardenhire said of Deduno. “You’re going to get a guy who’s going to put fear in people’s hearts.” Deduno starred for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic before sustaining a groin injury pitching in the final. He spent six weeks recovering before joining Minnesota’s Triple-A team at Rochester. … Braves RHP Jordan Walden (shoulder inflammation) played long toss before the game but isn’t likely to be activated Monday, when he is eligible to come off the disabled list. Manager Fredi Gonzalez believes Walden will need a couple of minor-league starts before he returns to Atlanta.

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This summer, the Minnesota Twins are making local music fans happy.

At every Wednesday home game through August, a local band will perform during games in a series the team calls “The Midwest Music Showcase.”

In the past, the Twins have fielded complaints that local music wasn’t played in the stadium.

They can’t complain any more. The team selected Minnesota artists such as Trampled by Turtles, P.O.S, and GB Leighton will perform at games this summer.

I spent some time with Minneapolis rockers, The 4onthefloor, during their performance on May 15 and found out why it’s a big deal for the bands and their fans.

There is one spot still open for the group that wins “The Sound Factor” contest.

To see the lineup for the Midwest Music Showcase, or to submit a song to perform at Target Field, visit the Twins website.

“I decided to just compete with my other pitches,” he said. “I know my fastball is good, my two-seamer, so I just tried to command my curve and my slider.”

Teheran pitched 8 1-3 strong innings, Dan Uggla hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves won their fourth straight game with a 5-1 victory over the struggling Minnesota Twins on Monday.

Teheran (3-1) gave up five hits, one run — Josh Willingham’s homer in the ninth — and one walk. He struck out four, throwing 80 of his 123 pitches for strikes.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez gave Teheran a chance to finish the game, but he and pitching coach Roger McDowell had agreed before the ninth that they wouldn’t let the 22-year-old go past 125 pitches.

Teheran noticed in his pregame bullpen session that he wouldn’t be able to rely too much on his change-up. He tried it against a few batters early in the game, but stuck with what was working instead of forcing the pitch on catcher Gerald Laird.

“For the experience of being out there in the ninth inning — maybe he was a little tired — but you’ve got to dig deep a little bit,” Gonzalez said. “It was good for him.”

Cory Gearrin earned his first career save by retiring pinch-hitter Oswaldo Arcia on a flyout that gave Minnesota its sixth straight loss.

The previous longest career outing for Teheran was seven innings, a mark he reached in a no-decision April 29 against Washington and a May 9 victory at San Francisco.

After rallying in the late innings to win three straight from the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, Atlanta jumped on Twins starter Kevin Correia (4-4) early.

“He said it — his arm was dragging tonight,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He just couldn’t get the whip in it, couldn’t get the ball where he wanted to, I think. Normally he’s really good locating the baseball, and he was up.”

In the first, Freddie Freeman had an RBI single, and Uggla hit his eighth homer, a three-run shot, to make it 4-0.

Juan Francisco led off the fourth with a double, moved to third on Teheran’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Andrelton Simmons’ sacrifice fly RBI for a 5-0 lead.

Correia had his shortest outing in nine starts this season. In four innings, he allowed eight hits, a season-high five runs and one walk.

Correia recorded no strikeouts for the first time this year and the first time as a starter since April 29, 2012, when he and the Pittsburgh Pirates lost in Atlanta.

“I didn’t have real good command of pretty much anything, really,” Correia said. “I was kind of getting away with it there after the first. I was able to kind of weasel my way through a couple innings, I guess.”

Ryan Pressly pitched the fifth and sixth for Minnesota, allowing one walk and striking out one. Caleb Thielbar, recalled from Triple-A Rochester earlier in the day, worked the seventh and eighth, giving up a single and striking out three.

Teheran allowed a single to Justin Morneau in the first, faced the minimum in the second and gave up a leadoff single to Aaron Hicks in the third.

Morneau singled to begin the fourth and moved to second on a walk, but Teheran ended the threat with a flyout and a groundout.

Teheran, a 22-year-old in his first full season, held Minnesota to just one base runner — Willingham, who was hit by a pitch in the sixth — over the next four innings.

In his past five starts, the 22-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA.

Teheran retired Morneau on a flyout to begin the ninth, but Willingham hit his sixth homer and Trevor Plouffe singled to end the pitcher’s night.

Luis Avilan faced the next two batters. Parmelee singled and pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit flew out before Gearrin retired Arcia.

Teheran credited Laird with helping him stay on point.

“Everything he wanted, I tried to pitch,” Teheran said. “If I did shake him, he got me to throw it where he wanted me to. I shook him like twice the whole game. I did it in the seventh inning, and he got mad at me. But I know that sometimes I get confused, and he helped me with that.”

Notes: Minnesota made its first regular-season visit to Turner Field and its first trip to Atlanta since the 1991 World Series. … The Braves announced during the game that LHP Eric O’Flaherty will undergo season-ending elbow ligament replacement surgery on Tuesday. The news wasn’t unexpected for O’Flaherty, the eighth-inning specialist who went on the disabled list Saturday with a torn ligament. … Atlanta RHP Tim Hudson, Tuesday’s scheduled starter, is 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA in his past two starts. … RHP Mike Pelfrey will pitch for Minnesota and is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in his past two starts. … Francisco began the game hitless in his past 10 at-bats with seven consecutive strikeouts. He finished 2 for 3 with one walk and one strikeout.

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The move was made Monday before Minnesota’s game at Atlanta. The 26-year-old Thielbar is a native of Randolph, Minn., about 40 miles south of Minneapolis.

Two seasons ago, Thielbar became the first player from the independent league St. Paul Saints to have his contract purchased by the Twins. Thielbar had a 3.76 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 26 1-3 innings in relief this season for Rochester.

Hernandez had a 5.85 ERA. In four starts this month, he allowed 30 hits, 17 runs and four homers over 17 innings.

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“It’s tough to win a ballgame when you don’t have any clutch hits,” Chris Parmelee said after the Twins lost to the Boston Red Sox 5-1 on Sunday in a game interrupted by a three-hour rain delay — the longest ever at Target Field.

Minnesota managed only a single hit against Red Sox starter John Lackey (2-4). Dustin Pedroia and Will Middlebrooks homered for Boston, which won its fifth straight.

Pedro Hernandez (2-1) gave up three runs on a season-high nine hits — including Middlebrooks’s solo homer in the second — in 4 1-3 innings.

“We need innings and we didn’t get it,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He managed to keep the score at a pace where at least we had a chance, but it wasn’t a great performance by any means.”

The home crowd, in fact, cheered more during the rain delay while watching the 1993 baseball movie “The Sandlot” on the Target Field big screen. Afterward, the few hundred fans who stuck out the delay cheered as loud as they could when Joe Mauer came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth.

The cheers quickly turned to groans as Mauer struck out swinging for the third time, ending his AL-leading 15-game hit streak. The Twins finished their latest homestand 2-7.

“It’s been a tough one, it’s not the way we wanted it to go,” Parmelee said. “But you can’t take it back now, you just have to move forward.”

Lackey (2-4) ended his three-game losing streak by giving up one unearned run and striking out five before dark skies and heavy rain sent fans running for cover as he was warming up to start the seventh.

“It’s tough,” Parmelee said “You’re sitting down, you’re trying to stay as loose as possible. You don’t really know when the rain’s going to let up or when you’re going to be able to get back out there.”

The Twins were 18-17 after beating the Chicago White Sox 10-3 last Monday and were only a couple games out of first place. Since then, they’ve been outscored 33-14.

Lackey was perfect through four innings before Trevor Plouffe led off the fifth with a double. He eventually came around to score — although the Red Sox helped out with that when Lackey hit Oswaldo Arcia in the foot, and shortstop Pedro Ciriaco’s errant throw to first allowed Plouffe to make it 3-1.

Josh Roenicke relieved Hernandez with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth, and got Middlebrooks on a popup and Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a grounder to get keep the Red Sox from doing any more damage.

NOTES: Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey threw 17 pitches in one inning of a rehab appearance at Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday night. Manager John Farrell said Bailey — on the DL since May 6 with a right bicep strain — is on track to be activated on Monday. … Franklin Morales, on the DL since March 31 wish a low back strain, started the game for Pawtucket and allowed five runs in four innings. He’s expected to make at least one more rehab start. … Boston SS Stephen Drew missed his second straight game with a sore back. … Patrick Renna and Chauncey Leopardi, aka “Ham” and “Squints” from “The Sandlot,” visited Gardenhire in his office before the game. “The players wondered what we did wrong to get summoned to the manager’s office,” Renna said. … Jon Lester (6-0, 2.72 ERA) starts on Monday as the Red Sox begin a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox. Dylan Axelrod (1-3, 4.27) is scheduled to start for Chicago. … Kevin Correia (4-3, 3.35) starts for Minnesota as the Twins kick off a nine-game road trip against Atlanta on Monday. Julio Teheran (2-1, 4.57) starts for the Braves.

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It just looks that way every time he crushes another ball into the Target Field seats.

Ortiz homered twice and drove in six runs to torment his former team once again, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 12-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.

“It used to be,” Ortiz said when asked if there was extra motivation when he played the Twins. “Not anymore. I just go about my business. I try to hit the moon every time I go to hit anywhere. It’s not new.”

Dustin Pedroia had two hits, two walks and an RBI, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Daniel Nava also went deep for the Red Sox, who have won four straight following a slide in which they had lost 10 of 14.

Scott Diamond (3-4) gave up six runs on eight hits and walked three in 4 1-3 innings for the Twins, who have lost four in a row to fall into last place in the AL Central. Pedro Florimon had two hits and two RBIs and Joe Mauer extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two hits.

Craig Breslow (1-0) pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for the win. Ortiz also had a single and a walk, raising his batting average to .362 in a game that lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.

“His performance is as good as you’re going to find in the league right now,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan has long been one of the most respected executives in the game. But one of his biggest mistakes came in 2002 when he released Ortiz, who had just appeared to start putting things together in his sixth big league season. The move is still haunting Ryan and the Twins 11 years later.

Ortiz signed with the Red Sox, and promptly blossomed into one of the most feared hitters in the American League, a central figure in Boston’s two World Series championships and the kind of slugger the Twins have been searching for ever since. He wears No. 34 in honor of the late Kirby Puckett and seems to take particular delight in hammering his former team.

Ortiz is 19 for 37 with five homers and 16 RBIs at Target Field.

“The one guy we say don’t let beat us is David Ortiz,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They’ve got a lot of really good hitters over there, but we told them to stay away from this guy, don’t give in to him. And he keeps sending souvenirs.”

Diamond labored from the start, falling behind 3-0 after 19 pitches. Ortiz jumped on a flat slider and drove it into the seats in right-center field for his sixth homer of the season.

Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster wasn’t much better. He walked four hitters in the second and third innings to load the bases in both frames, but the right-hander got Mauer to chase a breaking ball down and away to escape in the second and then got Aaron Hicks to fly out to deep right field to end the third.

Dempster needed a staggering 127 pitches to get through just 4 2-3 innings. He gave up five runs on eight hits and walked six.

“I just couldn’t get consistency with any of my pitches,” Dempster said. “I kept missing away with it. I really didn’t have any of my pitches tonight.”

Down 7-5 in the sixth, the Twins loaded the bases again. But Pedroia made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right field, then whirled and easily threw out Ryan Doumit at home on a major base-running blunder.

Ortiz and Nava busted the game open with two-run homers in the seventh, giving Ortiz his 40th career multi-homer game.

“He’s swinging the bat great right now,” Pedroia said. “Everything he hits is hard. He looks great up there.”

NOTES: The Red Sox played without OFs Shane Victorino and Stephen Drew because of back injuries. Farrell said both were hopeful of playing on Sunday. … Mauer returned to the lineup after missing Friday night with a stiff back. … Diamond and Dempster were facing each other for the second time this season, becoming the first pair of Canadian starters to meet more than once in a season since at least 1920, according to the Red Sox. … The Twins will send LHP Pedro Hernandez (2-0, 5.79) to the mound on Sunday for the finale against Boston RHP John Lackey (1-4, 4.05). Lackey is looking to bounce back from a poor start against Tampa Bay, when he gave up five runs in 4 1-3 innings.

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Mauer was scratched from Friday night’s game against Boston after he woke up with back pain. Manager Ron Gardenhire says Mauer came to Target Field on Saturday feeling much better, and he was put back in the lineup as the designated hitter. The plan is for him to catch the series finale on Sunday.

Mauer entered with a 14-game hitting streak and a .349 batting average.

The Twins also announced that right-hander Cole De Vries has been reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Rochester. De Vries has been on the disabled list since April 7 because of a strained right forearm.

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The Red Sox have won three straight after losing 10 of their previous 14 games, while the Twins have lost three in a row after winning six of nine.

Twins reliever Josh Roenicke (1-1) gave up a single and a walk to open the 10th. After a sacrifice bunt, Stephen Drew was intentionally walked to load the bases. Then Gomes sent a drive to center field, where Aaron Hicks caught the ball but double-clutched on his throw and didn’t have a chance to get the speedy Dustin Pedroia.

Alex Wilson (1-0) picked up the victory by getting the last out of the ninth and Koji Uehara threw a perfect 10th for his first save, with closers Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey both on the disabled list.

The night before at Tampa Bay, Will Middlebrooks hit a three-run double in the ninth to give Boston a 4-3 win.

Pedro Florimon hit a two-run homer off Red Sox ace Clay Buchholz, just the second time the right-hander was taken deep this season.

Buchholz struck out nine batters over seven innings, including five in a row spanning the first and second frames, but he was stuck with a no-decision for the third straight start and couldn’t match Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore with the second 7-0 record in the majors this year. Buchholz’s ERA, second-lowest among American League qualifiers, actually rose nine points to 1.78.

Florimon also had a hand in three double plays induced over six innings by Twins starter Vance Worley, who gave up just one unearned run. The shortstop made a slick pivot and quick throw to end the third and the fifth on grounders hit by Pedroia.

Vance Worley Interview

Florimon had a chance to start a fourth, with Brian Duensing pitching in the seventh, but Jacoby Ellsbury’s sharp bouncer glanced off his glove as he tried to make a sliding stop. The ball rolled into center field for a single, and Gomes — who led off with a walk — scored to tie the game at 2.

Worley could’ve easily held the Red Sox scoreless. Second baseman Brian Dozier’s off-balance, desperate throw in the first inning soared into the seats for an error to turn Daniel Nava’s infield single into two bases. He scored with two outs on the first of three singles by David Ortiz.

With Joe Mauer and his 14-game hitting streak on the bench because of a stiff back, the Twins had only two players in the lineup entering the game with a batting average better than Florimon’s .247. But Trevor Plouffe doubled off the wall to start the third, and with one out Florimon drove a first-pitch curveball just inside the foul pole and just over the right-field wall to put the Twins up 2-1.

Baseball hasn’t had many more statistically disparate pitching matchups one quarter of the way through a season than this one.

Worley’s ERA was the worst in the league entering the game at 7.15, and even after this solid performance no pitcher in the majors with a qualifying amount of innings has a higher opponent batting average than his .369.

Buchholz has finished seven innings in all but one of his nine starts this year, against the Twins at home two weeks ago, and allowed more than two runs in only one turn, also in that game when the Twins scored four times against him. Buchholz’s last home run surrendered was in his first start on April 3.

Worley brought his best, though, and the Twins put two of their four hits against Buchholz to good use. He walked three, including one in the fifth while the Twins loaded the bases with one out. But struggling slugger Josh Willingham took a called third strike, and Justin Morneau flied out to left field at medium depth. Morneau’s 11-game hitting streak ended.

NOTES: With the Red Sox having started on Tuesday a stretch of 20 games in 20 days, manager John Farrell will try to give his regulars a rest here and there. 1B Mike Napoli, who went 1 for 11 in the three-game series at Tampa Bay earlier this week, was on the bench on Friday. … Morneau, whose 17 RBIs are the most in the majors in May, dropped to 6 for 8 with 13 RBIs with the bases loaded this season. . … Red Sox backup catcher David Ross, on the 7-day DL due to post-concussion symptoms, had an exam pushed back until Monday. He is still light-headed and fatigued. … This was only the third time in nine starts with the Twins that Worley finished six innings. .. The Red Sox will send RH Ryan Dempster (2-4, 3.75 ERA) to the mound on Saturday, opposite LH Scott Diamond (3-3, 4.08 ERA) of the Twins. Both of them gave up six runs and took the loss in their last start.

Ron Gardenhire Interview

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Manager Ron Gardenhire said Mauer woke up in the morning with discomfort but could be available to catch in an emergency if Ryan Doumit were also hurt. Gardenhire said Mauer would be re-evaluated Saturday.

“We’re hoping that this is short term and he’ll be able to play tomorrow,” Gardenhire said.

Mauer has a 14-game hitting streak, tied for the third-longest of his career. The 30-year-old is batting .446 during the run. Chris Parmelee, hitting .204 entering the night, took Mauer’s place in the second spot in the batting order.

For the Red Sox, right fielder Shane Victorino was also out as a precaution after hurting his back the night before at Tampa Bay. He made a tough catch at the warning track in the eighth inning as he collided with the wall. Manager John Farrell also hoped Victorino would be available to play Saturday. Two weeks ago, Victorino missed seven games due to a problem with his back.

He said the discomfort that time was worse than this.

“I want to be smart about it,” Victorino said.

The Twins also announced backup outfielder Darin Mastroianni, on the disabled list for the last month due to a stress reaction in his left foot, will have surgery to fix a bone chip inside his ankle that has been preventing him from progressing. Assistant general manager Rob Antony said Mastroianni will need at least six weeks to recover from the operation, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Twins made a minor-league roster move, too, releasing left-handed reliever Rafael Perez from Triple-A Rochester. Perez was signed to a minor-league contract, coming off shoulder surgery, but didn’t improve to the point where the Twins believed he could help them in the majors this year. So Antony said they wanted to give him the opportunity to find a new team.

Perez posted a 3.64 ERA over seven years with the Cleveland Indians, averaging 66 innings per season.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Twenty years ago, we were introduced to characters like Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, Smalls, Squints, Ham and Yeah-Yeah. They were far from a pack of superheroes; just neighborhood kids trying to stay out of trouble while playing baseball.

“The Sandlot” remains one of my favorite baseball movies. I remember seeing it in theaters. I can’t say “forever” without saying it in super-slow motion.

“For-ev-er!”

In celebration of its big anniversary, the Minnesota Twins are showing “The Sandlot” on Target Field’s giant outfield screen. Fans can catch the film following the May 19 game against Boston.

Before the screening, writer/director David Mickey Evans and two of the movie’s stars – Chauncey Leopardi (Squints) and Patrick Renna (Ham) – stopped by WCCO for an interview.

Watch the video above to get the inside scoop about why the movie is so popular, what Darth Vader (aka James Earl Jones) really thinks about baseball and if Squints still talks to lifeguard Wendy.

Adam Dunn’s big bat has been a key part of that.

Dunn homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, powering the White Sox past the Twins 9-4 on Wednesday.

The nine runs are a season high.

“Pitching obviously wins you games, but as far as the energy level and things like that, if the team is hitting, then the energy level will be up,” Dunn said, adding: “Hopefully it carries over and this is the start of something good.”

Dunn hit a pair of two-run shots for his 35th career multihomer game. He’s hit three home runs in the past two games and has nine this year.

Dayan Viciedo also went deep for the second straight day, helping Dylan Axelrod (1-3) pick up his first victory this season. Dunn would’ve had four homers in the series if Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks hadn’t made a leaping catch over the wall.

“He’s a guy you’re excited to see up. When he gets hot, it’s fun to watch,” Axelrod said.

Mike Pelfrey (3-4) was hit hard yet again, failing to record an out in the fifth inning. Dunn was the last batter he faced, delivering an RBI double that put the White Sox ahead 4-2.

The 33-year-old slugger hit both of his homers with two outs, in the third off a changeup from Pelfrey in an eight-pitch at-bat and in the eighth off Josh Roenicke.

“He’s a strong young man and you throw the ball up there, he’s going to get you,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Dunn is 8 for 28 with seven walks and two homers in his career against Pelfrey.

“I obviously didn’t pitch in as effectively as I should have. He made me pay for it,” Pelfrey said.

Dunn finished 3 for 4 with a walk and still has the third-worst batting average in the majors, at .156, for players with the minimum amount of at-bats.

But the White Sox didn’t sign him to a $56 million contract to hit singles, and the 6-foot-6, 285-pound first baseman can still drive a ball deep with the best of them.

“He’s been working hard all year to do what he does, and finally it looks like he’s found something right. That’s good because he helps everyone,” said teammate Alex Rios, who scored three runs on a 3-for-4 afternoon.

Nine of Dunn’s 20 hits this season are home runs. After leading the majors with 222 strikeouts last year, Dunn has fanned 48 times in 2013, another 200-plus pace. Houston’s Chris Carter has 60 strikeouts, tops in either league.

For the White Sox, batting .236 with 136 runs in 38 games, both last in the AL, this resurgence couldn’t have come soon enough. Dunn was pleased more by where the balls he hit, to center field and left, went than how hard he hit them.

“I’ve had a couple of those pitches in a couple of these previous games that I rolled over and hit to second base,” Dunn said.

Rios has at least one hit in his past 10 games and is batting .390 during the streak.

“That’s why he’s batting third. He does a lot of good things,” manager Robin Ventura said.

Axelrod finished 5 1-3 innings, allowing nine hits, three runs and one walk while fighting through a leg cramp in the sixth.

The right-hander struck out four, including Ryan Doumit and Oswaldo Arcia in consecutive at-bats in the fifth after Josh Willingham was hit by a pitch and Justin Morneau singled to start the inning.

Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer each had three hits, and Morneau added a pair of singles on his 32nd birthday. Eduardo Escobar homered off Axelrod, Willingham drove in two runs and Carroll added an RBI single against reliever Matt Lindstrom.

Mauer’s 14-game hitting streak is his longest in four years and the third-longest of his career. Morneau has at least one hit in his past 11 games, batting .422 in that span.

Pelfrey’s hold on a spot in the rotation has been slipping. The right-hander, barely one year removed from Tommy John surgery, saw his ERA spike to 6.57, the third-highest in the majors among those with a qualified number of innings.

Opponents are batting .339 against him, also the third-highest in the majors. Pelfrey allowed eight hits, five runs and two walks while striking out three.

NOTES: Twins RHP Vance Worley’s ERA (7.15) and batting average against (.379) are still worse than Pelfrey’s. … The White Sox sent 2B Gordon Beckham (broken left wrist) and INF Angel Sanchez (back injury) on minor league rehab assignments. … Rios is a .372 career hitter at Target Field. His 42 hits here are behind only Miguel Cabrera for the most among Twins opponents. … The Twins start a three-game series against the Red Sox on Friday, with Worley facing Clay Buchholz, who is unbeaten in six decisions this season. … The White Sox begin a four-game road series against the Angels on Thursday. LHP Jose Quintana (2-1, 3.72 ERA) will pitch against RHP Jerome Williams (2-1, 3.06) of the Angels.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo hit consecutive homers to back another strong start from Peavy and lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Peavy (5-1) gave up two runs and five hits with six strikeouts in seven innings and Tyler Flowers’ single in the eighth scored the go-ahead run for the White Sox. Addison Reed picked up his 12th save.

“I think he’s got a little more velocity,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He’s further removed from surgery. He’s just stronger. He has more belief as far as in his mind he doesn’t have any hesitation of letting it go. I think last year he might have held back a little bit. But this year he’s pitching free.”

Peavy was one of the best pitchers in the game from 2004-08, winning a Cy Young Award and pitching in two All-Star games for the San Diego Padres in that span.

But he had right shoulder surgery in 2010, and it’s been a long, slow climb back. Now Peavy is 4-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his past five starts and looking more and more like the ace he was in San Diego.

“You can’t say enough about the way that guy goes out there and competes and demands perfection out of himself,” said Flowers, who went 2 for 4 with a double. “Our other pitchers are trying to do what he does.”

Kevin Correia (4-3) gave up four runs and nine hits with two strikeouts in seven innings and Joe Mauer extended his hitting streak to 13 games for the Twins. Justin Morneau added a single and a double to increase his hitting streak to 10 games.

Dunn, who entered the game hitting a league-worst .133, and Viciedo got the Sox off to a roaring start with nearly 1,000 feet of home runs in the second inning.

One night after watching Aaron Hicks rob a home run in center field, Dunn put a little extra on a pitch that soared an estimated 413 feet into the bullpen.

Viciedo followed three pitches later with a blast that landed in the first row of the third deck in left field, some 424 feet from home plate for a 2-0 lead, but the fun was just beginning.

Proponents of expanded replay picked up some more fodder in this game and Peavy may be at the front of the line now.

The Twins caught their first break in the fifth when home plate umpire Jordan Baker missed Flowers’ initial tag of Morneau at home plate. When Morneau saw that no call was made initially, he sneaked his arm into home plate and was ruled safe. Peavy and Ventura argued vehemently to no avail, and the Twins were on the board.

“He said he didn’t see it,” Peavy said. “I saw it pretty clearly from farther away both times. Just, you know, I understand they are going to miss some. But it cost runs, cost the tying run coming to the plate there.”

First base umpire Dan Bellino missed another call in the seventh when Dunn beat Brian Dozier’s throw to first by a full step but was ruled out anyway. Ventura again came out to argue briefly before heading back to the dugout.

Trevor Plouffe’s single in the seventh scored Josh Willingham to tie the game 2-2, and suddenly Baker’s call at home loomed very large.

“I think in the end to do all that stuff, they just want to get it right,” Ventura said. “I don’t know if the answer is to go more (replays), but in the end you just want it to be right.”

But Peavy posted his fifth straight quality start — he is 4-0 with a 2.10 ERA during the streak — and Flowers and Alexei Ramirez delivered RBI singles in the eighth inning to put Chicago back on top.

The Sox were even able to overcome an error charged to Dunn at first base when a throw from Ramirez broke the webbing of his glove and popped out.

“We’re getting creative; gloves breaking. So, you just scratch your head,” said Ventura, who conducted a 45-minute defensive workout before the game after seeing eight errors in the past five games. “But it’s a focal point. It’s important and it’s going to stay important. I don’t know if we’re going to come out here at 8:30 tomorrow, but I was thinking about it.”

NOTES: The White Sox rested struggling slugger Paul Konerko for a second consecutive day. … Dunn and Viciedo gave the Sox their first back-to-back homers of the season. … Twins GM Terry Ryan said RHP Cole De Vries, who has been on the disabled list all season, was scheduled to make a rehab start on Wednesday and would be evaluated after that. … In the “great timing” department: After a month and a half of frigid temps, the Twins gave out a fleece blanket on Tuesday night. The temperature at first pitch was 92 degrees.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

To say that Aaron Hicks’ first month-plus in the big leagues has been a trial is more than a tepid understatement.

Coming into Monday night the rookie had a slash-line of .137/.239/.216. As bad as those numbers look, considering that they were numbers on the rise, they look even worse.

He’d struck out 35 times in 102 at-bats, and had only 14 hits – though five of those were for extra bases. He’d managed to up his on-base percentage by virtue of drawing 14 walks, but was still struggling mightily to put the ball in play.

But for as long of a haul as a baseball season can be, it’s funny how often one night can change the course of a player’s season.

Hicks may very well have had one of those nights on Monday.

It started out innocently enough with a routine fly ball out to right in the second inning.

But after the Twins had grabbed the lead from the White Sox in the third, Hicks came to the plate to lead off the fourth. He worked himself into a 1-2 count, and then hammered a Hector Santiago pitch to center for only the second home run of his young career.

It’s impressive enough to hit a ball 416 feet into a spot at Target Field where Twins fly balls usually go to die. It turned out to be all the more impressive given what happened in the sixth inning.

The White Sox had just closed to within two runs of the Twins when Adam Dunn – he of 412 career home runs – hit one to nearly the same spot that Hicks had hit his home run.

The difference? Aaron Hicks got a better jump than Alejandro De Aza – the Chicago center fielder – did. Hicks raced to the wall and made a leaping grab reminiscent of the kind of catch that earned Torii Hunter the nickname of “Spiderman”.

“When a ball’s struck like that, you don’t kind of know, you just have to break back and do the best you can,” Hicks said, “It hung up for me and I made the catch.”

A home run and the highway-robbery of a long-ball would be enough to earn the hearty cheers of any fan base, and Twins fans greeted Hicks loudly as he returned to the dugout.

But he wasn’t done.

After Oswaldo Arcia struck out to lead off the bottom half of the sixth, Hicks took Santiago deep again, this time 412 feet to left-center. The two no-doubters not only constituted the first multi-hit and multi-homer game of Hicks’ career, but also the first multi-home-run game by any Twin in 2013.

“I think the second one was more fun,” said Hicks, “Right after the catch I just felt amazing, I felt loose, and for that one to come right after, just capped it off.”

This time the cheers from the Twins faithful were so loud and sustained, they prompted another first for the first-year center fielder … his first curtain call.

Hicks had one more at-bat in the 8th. This time after a bloop-double by Arcia and with first base open, Chicago reliever Deunte Heath decided that discretion was the better part of valor and issued Aaron a 5-pitch walk.

As the old Metrodome scoreboard saying goes, “Walks Will Haunt”, and haunt Heath they did as Hicks came around to score on a bases-loaded walk.

Of course, one game does not a career make. Heck, it doesn’t even make a season.

Manager Ron Gardenhire just hopes a night like tonight helps build Hicks confidence, “That’s kind of what we’re all waiting for. You know, you get a couple of big hits like that, you have a moment out there and hopefully that can maybe get him past some of these things.”

If Hicks begins to establish himself as a legit starter in the Major Leagues, he’ll be able to point to May 13th as the night were things started to click.

In his words, “I’ve just been battling, you know, every day and that’s the thing you gotta do in this league. I just made some plays today and had fun.”

After Monday night, he’s adding Aaron Hicks to the list.

Hicks hit two home runs and made a leaping catch in center field to take a home run away from Adam Dunn in the Twins’ 10-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

“We’ve definitely had our share of great ones here and that ranks right up there,” Gardenhire said. “That catch is going to rank right up there, especially the moment he caught the ball. A big moment, a big play.”

Justin Morneau extended his hitting streak to nine games with three hits and four RBIs, including a bases-clearing double that capped the scoring in the eighth.

Hicks, who missed the previous two games due to a sore right elbow, led off the fourth inning with a 416-foot solo homer that bounced in front of the black batter’s eye in center field and gave the Twins a 5-2 lead.

With a runner on third and the Twins holding a 5-3 lead in the sixth, Dunn drove a pitch from reliever Josh Roenicke deep to center that appeared to be headed for the same spot Hicks’ blast landed. However, the Twins’ rookie sprinted back, leaped high, and caught the ball above the wall, falling to the ground and grinning as he opened his glove to show the ball to the umpire.

After getting congratulated by teammates jogging off the field, Hicks hit his second home run in the bottom of the sixth, this one landing in the bullpen in left-center.

“Right after the catch I felt amazing, I felt loose. To hit that one, it just capped it off,” Hicks said.

Aaron Hicks Talks About The Win

Fans at Target Field stood and cheered for a curtain call, and Hicks finally obliged after Pedro Florimon popped out.

“I heard ‘em, but it’s my first one so I don’t really know,” said Hicks, whose teammates doused him with Gatorade and shaving cream after the game. “Morneau’s saying, ‘Hey these don’t happen that often.’ Florimon ended up popping out, so I had to kind of wait. Then I went out and got it.”

Dunn and Hicks entered the game tied for the lowest batting average in baseball (.137) among qualifiers. When the night was over, Hicks’ average was .152 and Dunn’s .133.

“Yeah, the kid made a great play,” said White Sox manager Robin Ventura, whose team allowed three unearned runs. “I think that one was one he hit well, but you don’t get anything out of it. But again we are not helping ourselves on the other side.”

Twins starter Pedro Hernandez (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander, who came to the Twins in a trade with the White Sox for Francisco Liriano, retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced after giving up two runs in the first inning.

Pedro Hernandez Talks About The Win

Manager Ron Gardenhire’s Post Game

Alex Rios had two RBIs for the White Sox, who are last in the American League in batting average and runs scored. Alejandro De Aza and Alexei Ramirez each had three hits.

Hector Santiago (1-2) allowed six runs — three earned — on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had only allowed one earned run in his previous two starts.

The Twins loaded the bases with nobody out and took advantage of Ramirez’s error at shortstop to score four runs in the third. The inning was capped by Trevor Plouffe’s two-run double.

“Yeah, it seems like every day we have one play that could change the game and it does wind up changing the game,” Santiago said. “I mean that play there, if he makes that play we are out of it and we’re up 2-0. You can keep the pitch count down. It was a big play in the game, and of late it’s been something like that, just one play each and every game.”

The White Sox loaded the bases against Jared Burton in the eighth, but pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie grounded out to first.

NOTES: White Sox LHP Chris Sale, who threw a one-hit shutout in Sunday’s win against Los Angeles, woke up in pain with an abscessed tooth that needed to be pulled. Manager Robin Ventura said that won’t affect Sale’s next start, a rematch on the road against the Angels. … White Sox LHP John Danks gave up three runs in six innings on Sunday in a rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte. Recovering from shoulder surgery last August, Danks will make at least one more start in the minors, Ventura said … Florimon, who missed all three games of the series over the weekend against Baltimore because of a tight right hamstring, returned to the lineup. … Kevin Correia (4-2) face Jake Peavy (4-1) on Tuesday in the second game of this three-game series.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Minnesota lefty is 3-0 in his trio of road starts this season, but fell to 0-3 at home on Sunday after Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Steve Pearce homered for the Baltimore Orioles in a 6-0 victory.

“I got eaten alive out there today,” Diamond said.

WCCO-AM Radio Audio

Diamond (3-3) was looking for his fifth straight quality start. But he struggled through 5 2-3 innings, allowing nine hits and tying a career high by giving up six earned runs.

“I felt good in the ‘pen. I felt like everything was down and I was locating. Then when I got out on the mound, the first two batters got decent hits off me. I know I’m not going to be at my best every game, so I’m just trying to make adjustments. It just wasn’t clicking for me. So this game’s more of a write-off.”

Nick Markakis and Manny Machado began the game with singles and after Jones grounded into a double play, Davis unloaded a 442-foot shot to straightaway center field. His 11th homer made it 2-0.

Wei-Yin Chen pitched five strong innings before leaving with a strained right oblique, and the Orioles won for the sixth time in eight games.

Chen (3-3) was breezing through the Twins lineup, allowing no runs and five hits while striking out three in five innings. He has allowed no more than three runs in seven of his eight starts this year.

Tommy Hunter, Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz and Pedro Strop combined for four innings of three-hit relief for Baltimore.

“Scotty was basically up, couldn’t get the ball down,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They jumped him early in the count and never let him get into any kind of pattern, and every time he got one up they seemed to make him pay for it.”

Chris Snyder had an RBI single in the second, but ended the inning when he was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a double by Markakis.

Markakis went 2 for 4 and is hitting .519 (27 for 52) against Minnesota since the start of last season. It is the highest average by any major league hitter with at least 40 plate appearances against any opponent in that span.

“We’ve been swinging the bats well the last few days, and it feels good to win a game by a pretty good margin,” Davis said. “It takes a little bit of pressure off the bullpen and really lets us enjoy the win.”

Markakis also had an outfield assist in the second, throwing out Justin Morneau, who tried to stretch a single into right into a double.

Jones lined a solo home run to left in the third, with the ball ricocheting off a railing just over the wall and up into the second deck.

Baltimore loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but could only push across one run — on Davis’ groundout — to make it 5-0. Pearce hit a solo homer in the sixth.

“It’s just one of those games. It happens,” said Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who went 0 for 4. “Through a 162-game season, you’re going to have one of those games where you don’t get runners on board and you dont score them.”

Four times in the first five innings, Minnesota’s leadoff man singled, but the Twins failed to score. Brian Dozier was caught stealing, Morneau was thrown out by Markakis, Joe Mauer was stranded at first and Plouffe stuck at second.

NOTES: Minnesota was shut out for the second time this season. … The Twins have allowed 37 first-inning runs, more than double any other inning total. … Twins SS Pedro Florimon missed his third straight game with a tight right hamstring. … Minnesota’s Pedro Hernandez (1-0) is scheduled to face Chicago’s Hector Santiago (1-1) when the Twins and White Sox start a three-game series Monday in Minnesota. … Baltimore’s Chris Tillman (3-1) is scheduled to get the ball Tuesday when the Orioles welcome San Diego to Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner (2-2) is the Padres’ scheduled starter.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Brian Duensing pitched two innings of scoreless relief, Casey Fien got two outs and Jared Burton earned his first save with a perfect ninth as the Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 Saturday night.

Ryan Doumit homered and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each had three hits for the Twins.

Vance Worley struggled through 5 1-3 innings, but earned his first win in 13 starts dating to Aug. 1, 2012.

Baltimore got within 6-5 in the sixth to chase Worley, and had runners on first and second when Duensing came into the game. The left-hander promptly got Nick Markakis to ground into a double play to end the threat.

“That kind of turned the momentum back in our direction,” Duensing said. “With that team, momentum can be troublesome. They’re a good offensive team.”

Josh Roenicke gave up three runs late in Friday’s game and Anthony Swarzak allowed three in the 10th inning as Baltimore overcame a six-run deficit to win 9-6.

“I think just for confidence for the whole group out there to do what we did tonight was real important,” Duensing said.

Fien got the final two outs of the eighth inning and Burton retired the Orioles No. 2-4 hitters — Manny Machado, Markakis and Adam Jones — for a perfect ninth. Minnesota’s normal closer, Glen Perkins, was unavailable with left side soreness.

“Burty told me last night after the game that he’s feeling really good, he feels like he’s found his pitches and the ball is coming out of his hand real good,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Doumit hit his third home run of the season in the sixth, a two-run shot into the second deck in left field to give Minnesota a little breathing room at 8-5.

Worley (1-4) gave up 11 hits and five earned runs. He struck out one but threw 111 pitches.

He left balls up in the zone and was hit hard in the opening frame when Baltimore took a 3-0 lead. Machado and Jones had doubles, and Markakis and Chris Davis had RBI singles in the inning. Matt Wieters added a sacrifice fly to deep left-center.

“After that I went out there and I wasn’t thinking so much,” Worley said. “I’m here for a reason. I got to the big leagues pitching and I don’t need to think too much about what I need to do out there, just make my pitches.”

He got out a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting J.J. Hardy to fly out, and allowed an RBI single in the sixth before being pulled.

“I’m just glad (Duensing) came in and finished it for me,” Worley said.

Making his season debut for the Orioles, starter Steve Johnson (0-1) cruised through the first two innings, before he began to get behind in counts and the Twins took advantage.

Trailing 4-2 and with two outs in the fourth, Brian Dozier laced a two-run double into the left-field corner to tie it. After an intentional walk to Mauer and a walk to Doumit, Morneau lined a two-run single over the shortstop for a 6-4 lead.

“I couldn’t get a good feel for my pitches,” said Johnson, who was optioned back to Triple-A after the game. “I couldn’t get my secondary stuff over. I started off all right, but I couldn’t make a pitch to get out of that inning. It’s unfortunate that the team gives you that lead they gave you to not being able to make a pitch and limit the damage. It’s not good.”

Johnson, who was 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 12 games (four starts) for Baltimore last season, hoped to make the Orioles as the team’s fifth starter out of spring training, but strained his right lat muscle in late-March. In three Triple-A rehab starts, the right-hander was 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA.

In four innings, he allowed seven hits and six earned runs while striking out three. However, he walked four batters and just 48 of his 88 pitches were strikes.

“Steve came out, hot and ready to go, started out really well, just couldn’t maintain it,” manager Buck Showalter said. “The first two innings, same type of approach (as last year). He’s got some late life on his fastball. The curveball wasn’t really there like it normally is. He got some outs with his changeup, but he then he elevated some that hurt him.”

Trailing 3-0, Eduardo Escobar doubled leading off the bottom of the third and scored on a double by Mauer. It was the 600th career RBI for Mauer, who scored on Morneau’s single.

Wieters homered in the fourth for a 4-2 Baltimore lead.

NOTES: With Johnson being sent down, the Orioles will make a corresponding roster move Sunday. … Johnson is the ninth pitcher to start for Baltimore this season, tying the Orioles with the Los Angeles Dodgers for most in the majors. … To make room for Johnson on the roster, Baltimore optioned RHP Alex Burnett to Triple-A Norfolk. … With Twins LF Josh Willingham getting the day off, Doumit hit third for the first time since Sept 16, 2011, when he was with Pittsburgh. … Wei-Yin Chen (2-3, 3.40) is scheduled to start for Baltimore on Sunday against Scott Diamond (3-2, 3.03).

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The right-hander had one hope of hanging on to beat Baltimore: “Let’s pound that sinker and get through six,” Pelfrey told himself.

Pelfrey finished the inning, but the damage had begun. Manny Machado’s tiebreaking RBI single in a three-run 10th inning lifted the Orioles to a 9-6 victory over the Twins on Friday night after Pelfrey gave up three runs in the sixth and reliever Josh Roenicke allowed three more in the seventh.

“Maybe after my last start, I kind of got spoiled,” Pelfrey said. “Maybe I kind of expected to have that kind of stuff every time out. But it was far from it.”

Pelfrey’s first season with the Twins has started slowly. His ERA dropped a bit to 6.03. But his last turn was his best yet, with one run given up in six innings at Cleveland. This time, despite the five shutout innings to start the night, he didn’t have the same command.

“The thing that kept me in the ballgame and allowed me to go as far as I did was my sinker,” Pelfrey said, adding: “But unfortunately I think they made an adjustment and started taking the ball the other way. Earlier they were trying to pull those sinkers.”

Pelfrey gave up four doubles in the sixth. He allowed nine hits and one walk while striking out one.

Machado — who stayed in the game after fouling a ball off his ankle in the fifth — rolled a single into right field that drove in Chris Dickerson and broke a 6-all tie in the 10th against Anthony Swarzak (1-1). Nick Markakis added a sacrifice fly and Adam Jones an RBI double to cap the scoring.

Asked what wasn’t working for him, Swarzak paused for a second.

“Couldn’t get ‘em to hit the ball at anybody,” he said.

After a long road trip and an early-morning arrival from Boston, the Twins had only four relievers available for use. Brian Duensing and Ryan Pressly were held out for rest. Closer Glen Perkins has soreness in his left side.

“Frustrating, because you have a big lead like that, but we’re pretty thin out there in the bullpen, not being able to use some people,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So we had to go with what we had, and it just didn’t work out.”

Tommy Hunter (3-1) didn’t allow a run in 2 1-3 innings to pick up the victory for the Orioles. Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th for his 35th consecutive save — dating back to last season — to set a franchise record.

Roenicke started the seventh and allowed three runs and four hits and only recorded one out. Chris Davis’s double off the scoreboard wall in right-center field scored Markakis and made it 6-6. The Orioles hit six doubles in a 12-batter span between the sixth and seventh innings.

Markakis started the barrage with a leadoff double in the sixth and finished with two hits and two RBIs. Adam Jones and Davis each had three hits for Baltimore.

“That’s a heck of a baseball team over there, and they can run some hitters up there. They can ambush you. They got some big, clutch hits. That’s kind of what they’re known for,” Gardenhire said.

Orioles starter Jason Hammel allowed six runs over four innings and failed to win on the road for the first time this season.

Joe Mauer had three hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who had won four of their previous five.

NOTES: Twins SS Pedro Florimon, who left Thursday’s game in the bottom of the seventh inning because of a tight right hamstring, was not in the starting lineup but told Gardenhire his leg was feeling better. … Because of the strain on the bullpen, fifth starter Pedro Hernandez will be available in relief if necessary for Saturday’s game. … RHP Steve Johnson will come off the DL to start Saturday in his season debut for the Orioles in place of RHP Miguel Gonzalez, who is out with a blister on his thumb. For the Twins, RH Vance Worley (0-4, 6.95 ERA) will take the mound looking for his first win in 13 starts since last Aug. 1 for the Phillies.
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Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said before Friday’s game against the Orioles that Perkins was hurt while striking out Boston’s Shane Victorino on Thursday. Perkins struck out two in a hitless ninth inning against the Red Sox for his eighth save in as many chances this season.

Perkins has a 3.55 ERA in 13 appearances, with eight hits and five walks allowed in 12 2-3 innings. He has 20 strikeouts.

The 30-year-old left-hander took over as the closer last season. Since the start of 2011, he has a 2.61 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 144 2-3 innings.

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The Red Sox had the best record in the majors after they beat the Twins in the series opener. But after losing 5-3 in Thursday night’s finale, they dropped out of first place in the AL East for the first time this season.

“It’s important that you kind of get that feeling about grinding things out (at) the end of a long road trip,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “These guys really stayed focused.”

Oswaldo Arcia hit a two-run homer and the Twins capitalized on a costly throwing error by Boston starter John Lackey to beat the Red Sox, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Boston won the opening game of the series 6-5 in 11 innings on Monday night. Then Minnesota came back to finish the road trip at 5-5.

“To lose that first one, we could have very easily won that one, too,” Minnesota starter Kevin Correia said. “So to come back and win three is huge.”

The Twins were 4 1-2 games out of first place in the AL Central when they arrived in Boston. They left trailing by 2 1-2.

The Red Sox started the series with a 1 1-2 game lead over New York and Baltimore. They ended it percentage points behind the Yankees and tied with the Orioles for second.

“I don’t think anybody is worried about the last seven games,” Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “It is the big leagues and everybody is good.”

Lackey was pitching very well until his wild throw to second base on a potential inning-ending double play gave the Twins another chance in the sixth and they responded with four unearned runs, including two on Arcia’s homer, to take a 5-2 lead.

“I have to make that one play and we win the game,” Lackey said. “One play ruined it all.”

Correia (4-2) pitched 5 1-3 innings, his second shortest outing in seven starts this season. Then Brian Duensing got out of a sixth-inning jam and Gardenhire kept him in for the seventh. He finished with 1 2-3 hitless innings.

“I appreciate the confidence” Gardenhire showed, Duensing said. “These are the type of situations you want to be in as a reliever.”

Jared Burton struck out the side in the eighth and Glen Perkins struck out two more in the ninth and got his eighth save in eight chances.

Lackey (1-3) pitched well until his error, then came back to pitch a perfect seventh before Koji Uehara took over in the eighth. Lackey allowed six hits and one walk and struck out eight. The Red Sox finished with 11 strikeouts, the 21st time in 35 games they’ve had at least 10.

Boston threatened with one out in the eighth when Daniel Nava walked and Will Middlebrooks reached first when shortstop Eduardo Escobar bobbled his grounder. It was the Twins’ first error in 12 games. But Burton struck out Stephen Drew and Mike Carp.

Trailing 2-1, the Twins went ahead to stay in the sixth.

The inning began with a single by Joe Mauer. He took second on a one-out walk to Justin Morneau before Lackey flubbed a chance to get out of trouble. Trevor Plouffe grounded the ball back to the mound, but Lackey threw wildly past Pedroia into center field. Mauer scored on the play, tying the game.

“You’re looking for breaks in the game,” Gardenhire said, “and that was a break for us.”

Ryan Doumit’s sacrifice fly gave Minnesota the lead before Arcia hit the next pitch into the right field seats for his third homer of the season.

“The errant throw opened the door for them,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “In the sixth inning (Lackey) was his own worst enemy. Other than that, I thought he pitched really well.”

The Red Sox had scored the first run of the game in the third on a double by Shane Victorino and an RBI single by Pedroia. They made it 2-0 in the fourth when Nava singled, took second on a groundout and scored on Drew’s single.

The Twins scored a run in the fifth when Arcia tripled and scored on a double by Aaron Hicks.

After falling behind 5-2, Boston scored in the sixth on a leadoff double by Mike Napoli and a run-scoring single by Nava. Middlebrooks then grounded into a forceout. Duensing replaced Correia and retired the next two batters.

That was one of many wasted opportunities for Boston, which left exactly one runner on base in each of the first seven innings, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.

NOTES: Twins SS Pedro Florimon was listed as day to day after leaving the game in the bottom of the seventh with a tight right hamstring. … The Red Sox transferred closer Joel Hanrahan from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. He is scheduled to see orthopedist James Andrews on Friday, an examination that could determine if he needs surgery after suffering a strained right forearm. … Boston opens a three-game series at home with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night with Jon Lester (4-0) pitching for the Red Sox against Ramon Ortiz (0-0). … Minnesota starts a nine-game homestand Friday with Mike Pelfrey (3-3) pitching for the Twins against Jason Hammel (5-1) of the Orioles.

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Pedro Florimon had a solo homer and a two-run double in the Twins’ season-high, seven-run second inning that carried them to a 15-8 rout of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

Entering the day with the American League’s second-fewest hits and third-fewest runs, the Twins didn’t have any pregame batting practice due to some showers at Fenway Park. Then they went out and compiled a season high in runs and hits (20).

“We’ll be asking for a little BP rain tomorrow,” joked Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. “It was a crazy night. The ball was flying early. Both pitchers, their young guy, we didn’t let him breathe, and they did that to our pitcher, too.”

Ryan Doumit had a two-run homer, Oswald Arcia went 4 for 5 with three singles and a double, and Trevor Flouffe drove in three of the Twins’ runs.

Florimon had a career-best three RBIs.

“It felt good,” he said, breaking into a smile as he was leaving the clubhouse. “I feel like I’m going pretty good.”

David Ortiz went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts and three groundouts to snap his 27-game hitting streak, dating to last season. Ortiz had hit safely in his first 15 games this season, giving him Boston’s longest streak since Manny Ramirez also hit in 27 straight in 2006.

Jonny Gomes hit his fourth career grand slam — first with the Red Sox — and drove in five runs. Shane Victorino added a solo homer for Boston, which lost for the fifth time in six games.

In the first two innings, the teams combined for 17 runs and 10 extra-base hits, chasing both starting pitchers as the Twins held an 11-6 edge after posting their big second.

Ryan Pressly (1-0) pitched four shutout innings of relief for his first major league win.

“That was a big pick up by him,” Gardenhire said.

Pressly was once part of Boston’s organization.

“I just wanted to get out there, speed the game up and get outs,” he said.

Boston’s Allen Webster (0-1), making his second career start, gave up eight runs, six hits and walked three while getting only five outs.

Twins starter Pedro Hernandez faired just a little better, allowing six runs and seven hits in two innings of his fifth career start.

“(My) head really wasn’t in the game today,” Hernandez said via a translator. “Someone (I) really loved passed away.”

Hernandez said a 38-year old cousin died two days ago and the funeral was Wednesday.

Trailing 5-4 in the second, Minnesota sent 11 batters to the plate and had its biggest inning of the season. Florimon tied it with a leadoff homer into the seats above the Green Monster. Justin Morneau’s sacrifice fly pushed the Twins ahead, before Plouffe’s RBI double chased Webster. Aaron Hicks then had a two-run single off Felix Doubront and Florimon followed with his two-run double, making it 11-5.

“The team did all they could to help me out,” Webster said. “I just went back out there and if I had thrown a zero we’d probably win the game, but I didn’t.”

That was all the offense the Twins needed.

“A tough night from the mound tonight. A number of pitches found their way to the middle of the plate,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “Once again, they swung aggressively, they hit a number of fastballs that didn’t get to the intended location. The one thing that’s a little concerning with Felix is that while he’ll get ahead of certain hitters, still lacks the ability to put some guys away and we’ve seen that the last two outings for him.”

Victorino’s homer into the left-field seats cut it to 11-6 in the bottom of the second.

Minnesota added a run in the fourth on Florimon’s double-play grounder. Plouffe delivered a run-scoring single and Arcia collected his fourth hit of the game in the fifth — an RBI double — to make it 14-6.

The Twins had grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first. After Webster fanned Jamey Carroll to start the game, he walked the next two before Morneau’s RBI double. Plouffe followed with a sacrifice fly before Doumit homered into Boston’s bullpen.

Boston responded by taking the lead with five runs after two outs in the bottom of the inning. Gomes belted his slam completely out of Fenway over the Monster after the Red Sox loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. Stephen Drew’s RBI single made it 5-4.

NOTES: Ortiz’s personal season-opening streak is the best by a Boston player since Tony Pena also hit in his first 15 in 1990. … The Red Sox honored Orlando Cepeda (Boston) and Ron Blomberg (Yankees) during a pregame, on-field ceremony for the 40th anniversary of the DH. Current Red Sox DH Ortiz handed them each commemorative framed pictures. … Farrell said 3B Will Middlebrooks had an MRI on his right side after bruising his ribs making a sliding grab of a foul pop before colliding with C David Ross in Tuesday’s loss. “He’s banged up a little bit,” Farrell said before saying the team was awaiting the results. Both Middlebrooks and Ross were not in the lineup. Farrell also said Ross still had “some soreness” in the left quadriceps. … The Twins close out their 10-game road trip Thursday when Kevin Correia (3-2, 2.83 ERA) is slated to face Boston’s John Lackey (1-2, 3.52) is the series finale.

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On Tuesday night, he didn’t give the Boston Red Sox many.

Diamond allowed three hits in seven shutout innings, Ryan Doumit hit his first homer of the season and the Twins beat the Red Sox 6-1.

Diamond said he still felt strong when he left the game but understands the cautious approach less than five months after the operation.

“This is only my (fifth) start after surgery,” he said, “so I feel it was a smart play.”

Diamond (3-2) is having a strong season after a rookie year in which he went 12-7 with a 3.54 ERA. He’s allowed three or fewer runs in four of his five outings.

On Tuesday, he retired his last 15 batters, didn’t allow a runner past second base, struck out two and walked none.

“Diamond was great for us,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, but “coming off the elbow thing, we’re really a little leery of” letting him throw too many pitches.

He threw 96 against Boston after tossing 78, 97, 97 and 88 in his other starts.

“Everything’s kind of been getting back in sync,” Diamond said. “That’s the focus now, just continue to build and get stronger.”

His approach to the game hasn’t changed even if he’s not pitching as long as he’d like. He still prepares intensely and throws aggressively.

“I might as well have taken a rocking chair out there. He makes it real easy,” Doumit, his catcher, said. “He’s one of the most prepared pitchers I’ve ever been around.”

David Ortiz got one of the hits off Diamond, a leadoff single in the second that stretched his hitting streak to 27 games, a run that began before he sustained a season-ending injury in August. He has at least one hit in all 15 games he’s played this season.

Ryan Dempster (2-3) pitched well for Boston and left trailing 2-0 in the top of the eighth after third baseman Pedro Ciriaco made errors on the first two batters, putting runners at first and third. That led to four runs, three of them unearned, as the Twins took a 6-0 lead.

The Red Sox entered the game with the best record in the majors, but have scored just 11 runs while losing four of their past five games.

They also lost two players after they collided chasing a foul pop by Chris Parmelee in the fifth near the low wall about halfway between home plate and third base.

Third baseman Will Middlebrooks caught it, but catcher David Ross slid into him, forcing his back to hit the wall. Ross left later in the fifth with a left thigh contusion and Middlebrooks was replaced by Ciriaco to start the seventh because of pain in his right side.

Ross is listed day to day, while Middlebrooks said he could have stayed in the game but will have X-rays and CT scans, Boston manager John Farrell said.

Josh Roenicke worked the last two innings, allowing Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s fourth homer in the ninth.

The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on a leadoff double by Doumit and an RBI single through a drawn-in infield by Wilkin Ramirez. They made it 2-0 on Doumit’s homer with one out in the seventh. It was upheld on video review after umpires ruled the ball had cleared the home run line at the top of the left field wall before a fan caught it.

“I made two mistakes and (Doumit) took advantage of both of them,” Dempster said. “The way Diamond was throwing the ball and keeping us in check, you knew that eventually one run would be maybe one run too many.”

It all unraveled for the Red Sox in the top of the eighth with three errors, a walk and three hits.

Ciriaco bobbled leadoff hitter Brian Dozier’s grounder for his first error. The next batter, Jamey Carroll, hit the ball to the left of Ciriaco, who couldn’t come up with it for his second error as Dozier took third.

“That was uncharacteristic of Pedro,” Farrell said. “He has shown to be a very dependable defender.”

Said Ciriaco: “I just missed those two balls. I’ve just got to be more ready and next time make those plays.”

Craig Breslow then replaced Dempster and failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. Joe Mauer doubled in one run, Josh Willingham walked to load the bases and Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe followed with RBI singles.

Alex Wilson relieved Breslow and Doumit grounded to first baseman Mike Napoli, who threw home for the force out — the first of the inning. Saltalamacchia tried to double-up Doumit, but his throw was low for an error and Napoli’s return throw was too late to get Morneau.

NOTES: Patty Campbell, mother of Krystle Campbell, who died in the Boston Marathon bombings, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. … With two singles, Morneau has 1,219 in his career, passing Torii Hunter’s 1,218 for eighth most in Twins history. … Pedro Hernandez (1-0) pitches for Minnesota against Allen Webster (0-0) on Wednesday night in the third game of the four-game series … The Red Sox placed Joel Hanrahan on the disabled list with a strained right forearm one day after their other closer, Andrew Bailey, went on the DL with a strained right biceps. Farrell said Junichi Tazawa would have filled that role if needed. … Ortiz’s streak is the longest by a Red Sox player since Manny Ramirez had a 27-game streak from July 15 to Aug. 1, 2006.

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Drew, who entered the game batting .182, homered and had four hits. Dustin Pedroia hit a solo shot in the eighth for a 5-4 lead, but Joel Hanrahan gave up Brian Dozier’s homer in the ninth and left one out later with right forearm tightness.

Clayton Mortensen (1-2) earned the win with 2 1-3 innings of scoreless relief. Pedroia and Shane Victorino had three apiece, and David Ortiz doubled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 26 games.

Jared Burton (0-1) retired his first two batters in the 11th, then gave up a swinging bunt single to Jarrod Saltalamacchia when the pitcher’s throw pulled first baseman Justin Morneau off the bag. Will Middlebrooks singled, and Drew hit a line drive to the base of the Green Monster in left-center.

It was Boston’s first walkoff win since Mike Napoli’s ninth-inning double beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Marathon Monday, just a half-hour before two bombs exploded at the race’s finish line.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz struggled early, falling behind 4-1 after five innings. But the Red Sox came back with single runs in five straight innings, including Pedroia’s homer off a Green Monster light stanchion that broke an eighth-inning tie.

It was Pedroia’s first homer since Sept. 11 — a span of 184 at-bats for the 2008 AL MVP.

One start after Toronto broadcaster Jack Morris accused him of throwing a spitball, Buchholz was rescued from his first loss of the season by the Boston comeback. There was no follow-up to the allegations, which Buchholz has denied, except that he had his worst outing this season.

Buchholz, who had won his previous six starts this year, gave up back-to-back doubles off the Green Monster to Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham in the first inning, then fell behind 4-1 in the fifth. The right-hander allowed four runs, seven hits and two walksl, striking out nine in six innings as his ERA rose from 1.01 to 1.60.

That gave Minnesota starter Vance Worley a chance to end a losing streak dating to August. But Jacoby Ellsbury doubled and scored in the fifth; Victorino, who homered in the fourth, singled and scored in the sixth; and Drew homered to right in the seventh to tie it 4-all.

Pedroia homered in the eighth with a high fly ball that bounced off the light support above the left-field wall.

Worley allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings. Since winning at the Washington Nationals on Aug. 1, he is 0-7 with a 6.87 ERA in 12 starts.

NOTES: The Red Sox posted updates on the manual scoreboard on the Bruins’ 5-2 NHL playoff win at Toronto. … Buchholz has not allowed a homer to the Twins in his career, a total of 35 2-3 innings. … The Twins have not made an error for nine straight games. … The Red Sox placed reliever Andrew Bailey on the 15-day DL because of a strained right biceps and activated Breslow from the DL (shoulder tendinitis).

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A strong outing by Mike Pelfrey and just enough clutch hitting did the trick in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Cleveland that stopped the Indians’ six-game winning string.

Minnesota, which is on a 10-game swing, lost two of three in Detroit and dropped the first two games against the Indians. With a four-game series starting Monday in Boston, which has the best record in baseball, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire didn’t want the losses to pile up.

“It was a good win for us,” he said. “No one wants to get swept. We’d like to start winning series. That’s our goal. Now we’re going to Boston, another team that’s playing really, really well and we’ll see what happens there.”

The loss dropped the Indians back to .500, but manager Terry Francona likes the way his team has been playing.

“When you’re going through good periods, you don’t necessarily even have to reel off a bunch of wins to feel good about your team,” he said. “When your starting pitching is good, you’ve got a chance to win every night. Guys continue to pick each other up at the plate.”

Pelfrey, coming off reconstructive surgery on his right elbow that limited him to three games last season, allowed one run in six innings in his longest outing of the season.

Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer in the second. Justin Morneau drove in a run with a bases-loaded single in the sixth while Joe Mauer, who was in a 5-for-43 slump, added an RBI double in the seventh.

Pelfrey (3-3), who allowed nine earned runs in losing his two previous starts, slowed down an Indians lineup that produced 53 runs during the winning streak. The right-hander gave up one run and four hits while striking out seven.

“It definitely feels better than the last one,” Pelfrey said. “At the end of the day, if we win I’m happy. If I had given up four or five runs and we would have won, I would have been OK with it. Winning is the thing I care about the most.”

Plouffe homered off Corey Kluber (2-1) with one out in the second, his fourth of the season and second in the series. Chris Parmelee was aboard with a walk.

Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. Carlos Santana hit a solo homer with two outs before Ryan Raburn blooped a single. Perkins struck out pinch-hitter Mike Aviles on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.

Pelfrey began last season in the New York Mets’ rotation, but appeared in only three games before having surgery on May 1. He signed with Minnesota in December. Pelfrey, who matched his season strikeout total, came into the game having allowed 19 earned runs in 22 1-3 innings — and opponents were batting .356 against him.

“He threw the ball great,” Gardenhire said. “This has been a heck of a comeback. We’re still just a year out of the surgery. We’re taking small steps. Hopefully we’ll keeping progressing.”

Said Pelfrey: “Things are starting to come together. It was a good day.”

The Indians’ winning streak began last Sunday when Kluber held Kansas City to two runs in seven innings. The right-hander gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings against Minnesota.

Jamey Carroll started the sixth with a single before Mauer and Josh Willingham walked. Morneau sent a sharp grounder through the right side that scored Carroll. Although Mauer was held at third, Willingham rounded second too far and was tagged out in a rundown. The mistake proved costly because Minnesota loaded the bases again with two outs before Cody Allen struck out Oswaldo Arcia.

Carroll, who reached base three times, drew a two-out walk in the seventh and scored when Mauer’s double got past left fielder Michael Brantley, who came up short on a diving attempt.

Morneau was in the original lineup at first base, but was moved to designated hitter after telling Gardenhire he “felt a little stiff.” Parmelee moved from right field to first and Arcia played right.

Josh Roenicke and Jared Burton each pitched a scoreless inning for the Twins, who have the lowest bullpen ERA in the American League.

Mark Reynolds’ sacrifice fly in the fourth scored Cleveland’s first run.

NOTES: Indians CF Michael Bourn (lacerated right index finger) will begin a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Columbus on Monday. He’s been out since April 14. Francona said Bourn will play three games on the stint … Cleveland RHP Vinnie Pestano was unavailable because of a sore right elbow, but Francona expects him to be ready to pitch Monday … LHP Scott Barnes was recalled from Columbus to give the Indians an extra reliever. OF Ezequiel Carrera was designated for assignment. … Carroll was atop the batting order for the second time this season as 2B Brian Dozier was given the afternoon off. … RHP Vance Worley (0-4) faces Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz (6-0) on Monday. … Cleveland continues its homestand Monday with the start of a four-game set against Oakland. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2) pitches against A’s RHP Jarrod Parker (1-4).
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Minnesota’s right-hander fell a bit short of that Saturday and the result was a 7-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Correia (3-2) failed to go seven innings for the first time in six starts as the Twins lost for the fourth time in five games on their 10-game road trip.

Correia allowed four runs in five innings to snap his three-game winning streak.

“I just didn’t quite have as good of a command with a couple of my pitches as I’ve had the past few starts,” he said. “I fell behind a couple guys and they took advantage.”

Rookie outfielder Aaron Hicks, the Twins’ top prospect, hit his first major league home run to lead off the fifth, but Minnesota lost a second straight to the Indians.

“We’re not scoring runs, we’re not scoring enough to win ballgames right now,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Correia had early trouble finding the strike zone, throwing 56 pitches in the first two innings and giving up all four of his runs. He settled down by the third, surrendering only one hit in his final three innings.

“Correia had to battle through it, 102 pitches in five innings,” Gardenhire said. “Just kind of an effort just to stay out there, but he did. He hung in there and we kept trying to come back but we just didn’t hit.”

Nick Swisher, who hadn’t played since Monday, homered off Correia in the first. Jason Kipnis, who had three hits, also homered in the inning and added an RBI single in the second.

Scott Kazmir (1-1), a two-time AL All-Star who pitched in an independent league last season, allowed two runs in six innings. It was his first win since beating Tampa Bay on Sept. 19, 2010, while with the Angels.

“He’s an easy guy to pull for,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He loves to pitch. He wants so bad to make this work. We’re pulling for everybody. That’s the way we are, but it’s hard not to have a soft spot when you see what he’s been through.”

Cleveland has now won six straight for the first time since winning seven in a row April 26-May 3, 2011.

Hicks has struggled offensively in the first month, hitting .123. Gardenhire has vowed to stick with him and the rookie responded by clearing the 19-foot wall in left field with his home run. Hicks has hit safely in seven of his last nine games.

“It’s a nice feeling for the kid, and then he hit a missile from the left side too through (Kipnis’) legs, so a couple of good swings there, and that’s always good,” Gardenhire said. “We just need more of it as a whole.”

The Twins scored in the second on Pedro Florimon’s RBI single, but his misplay in the field helped the Indians add two in the bottom of the inning. After Michael Brantley’s single gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead, Florimon was unable to catch Kipnis’ popup that fell for a run-scoring single. The shortstop ranged into shallow left field, but the ball drifted away from him and dropped in.

“You could see him fighting it (the sun) the whole way. It looked like he had it, lost it, and then tried to pick it up at the end,” Gardenhire said. “By that time the ball’s going into the ground.”

Kipnis tripled in the seventh and scored on Asdrubal Cabrera’s double. Mark Reynolds scored Cabrera with a two-out single.

Ryan Doumit’s RBI single off Joe Smith in the eighth cut the lead to 6-3, but Chris Parmelee flied out with two on to end the inning. Ezequiel Carrera had an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Joe Mauer had a hit and a walk in three at-bats and is in a 5-for-42 slump.

NOTES: Hicks leads AL rookies in walks with 13. … Twins OF Oswaldo Arcia didn’t start Saturday after starting 12 consecutive games. He had a pinch-hit single in the seventh. … Mauer was the DH after catching 10 innings Friday. … The series ends Sunday when RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-3) faces RHP Corey Kluber (2-0).

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Stubbs, who had four hits, drove a 1-0 pitch from Casey Fien off the wall in left-center to give Cleveland its first five-game winning streak since winning seven in a row from April 26-May 3, 2011.

Mike Aviles started the rally with a leadoff single off Fien (1-2). Pinch-hitter Ezequiel Carrera, claimed off waivers from Philadelphia on Thursday, moved Aviles to second with a sacrifice. Stubbs, who had two singles and two doubles, then drove in the game-winner.

Chris Perez (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for Cleveland.

Ryan Raburn, who had 12 hits in his previous 14 at-bats coming into the game, was 0 for 5.

Chris Parmalee’s two-run homer in the seventh capped Minnesota’s three-run rally, wiping out a 5-3 deficit, but Jason Kipnis tied the score in the eighth with a run-scoring grounder, his fourth RBI of the game.

Parmalee’s two-out blast came off reliever Cody Allen and gave Minnesota a 6-5 lead.

Aviles started the tying rally with a single off Jared Burton. After Jason Giambi flied out to deep center, Stubbs’ blooper fell near the right-field line for a double and sent Aviles to third. After Michael Brantley was intentionally walked to load the bases, Kipnis hit a ground ball to the right side that second baseman Brian Dozier knocked down. Dozier could only get Kipnis at first as Aviles scored to tie it at 6-all.

Minnesota trailed by two going into the seventh against Justin Masterson, who retired the first two hitters. Justin Morneau singled and took second on a passed ball by Yon Gomes. Ryan Doumit slapped a single on a 3-2 pitch through the left side that scored Morneau to make it 5-4.

Parmalee hit a 2-2 pitch to right that cleared the wall despite a leaping attempt Raburn, for his third homer of the season to put the Twins ahead 6-5.

Trevor Plouffe hit a solo homer in the second.

Twins starter Pedro Hernandez, who recorded his first career win over Texas in his last start, gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings

Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer in the fifth for Cleveland that broke a 3-3 tie.

Kipnis also had a two-run double in the third and a drove in another run with a bunt single in the sixth.

Masterson allowed three runs in 6 2-3 innings.

Cleveland first baseman Nick Swisher didn’t start for the third straight game because of a sore left shoulder. He took batting practice before the game and says he plans to play Saturday.

NOTES: Morneau has 104 RBIs in 134 career games against the Indians. He also drove in his 800th career run, making him only the fifth player in Twins history to reach that mark. Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett and Tony Oliva are the others. … Hernandez committed a balk in the fifth — the first by a Twins pitcher this season. … OF Michael Bourn (lacerated right index) finger took part in running drills and could start a minor-league rehabilitation assignment in a few days. … The Indians claimed Carrera from Philadelpia and optioned RHP Trevor Bauer to Triple-A Columbus. … The series continues Saturday afternoon when the Twins send RHP Kevin Correia (3-1) to the mound against LHP Scott Kazmir (0-1).

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Sanchez (3-2) was coming off a 17-strikeout performance against Atlanta, and he fanned five in the first two innings against the Twins — but Minnesota scored two runs in the first and another in the second. Diamond (2-2) didn’t allow a hit until Jhonny Peralta’s single in the fifth.

The Tigers fought back after trailing 3-0, but reliever Bruce Rondon allowed two more runs in the seventh to make it 5-2. Chris Parmelee hit a solo homer in the eighth.

Diamond allowed two runs and four hits and was pulled after 88 pitches.

Closer Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for Minnesota in a non-save situation. He allowed singles by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder with nobody out, but Victor Martinez hit into a double play, helping Perkins out of the jam.

Sanchez allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked two. Reliever Jose Ortega struck out two in the ninth, giving the Detroit staff 11 strikeouts for the game. It was the sixth consecutive game for the Tigers with at least 10 strikeouts — the longest streak by an American League team since at least 1921.

Sanchez struck out the first two hitters he faced, but his command was poor early on. He walked Josh Willingham and allowed an RBI double by Justin Morneau. After a walk by Ryan Doumit, Parmelee hit a single to left. Morneau tried to score from second, and although Matt Tuiasosopo’s throw home was a good one, catcher Brayan Pena couldn’t hold onto the ball while trying to make a quick tag.

Sanchez threw 41 pitches in the first inning. Minnesota struck out three times in the second but took a 3-0 lead on Jamey Carroll’s RBI double. Sanchez only pitched eight innings in the game against the Braves, so after two innings Wednesday, he had 22 strikeouts in his last 10.

The right-hander’s control came around eventually, and he retired his last 11 hitters.

But Diamond didn’t give up the lead. A line drive by Tuiasosopo in the second appeared to hit him in the right leg, but the left-hander recovered in time to make the play.

Diamond missed the start of the season after elbow surgery in December, but he’s gone at least six innings in three of his four starts. Torii Hunter hit an RBI single in the sixth to get Detroit on the scoreboard, and Cabrera followed with an RBI double, but Diamond retired Fielder and Martinez on groundouts to end the inning.

Aaron Hicks led off the seventh for the Twins with a triple to the right-field corner off a 101-mph fastball from Rondon. With the infield in, Pedro Florimon slapped a single up the middle to put Minnesota up 4-2.

Rondon walked two hitters to load the bases before being taken out. Darin Downs allowed an RBI single by Morneau before getting Doumit to ground into a double play to end the threat.

Parmelee’s homer made it 6-2 the following inning.

NOTES: Sanchez threw 115 pitches. … Since 1974, the most strikeouts for a pitcher over the course of 10 consecutive innings is 23, according to STATS. … Hicks was 8 for 73 (.110) on the season before tripling off Rondon. … Detroit travels to Houston for a four-game series. Rick Porcello (1-2) is expected to start Thursday night for the Tigers. Minnesota has Thursday off.

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Verlander (3-2) allowed a run and five hits. He struck out eight and walked two.

Vance Worley (0-4) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings. Worley was acquired by the Twins in an offseason trade with Philadelphia and started Minnesota’s season opener, but the right-hander has a 7.22 ERA.

Cabrera opened the scoring with his fourth homer of the year, and Fielder’s seventh was part of a three-run fifth. Alex Avila also went deep for Detroit.

Tigers pitchers struck out 10 — reaching that mark for the fifth straight game. That equals the longest streak by an American League team since at least 1921. The major league record since then is eight games by the Milwaukee Brewers last August, according to STATS.

Cabrera’s second opposite-field homer in three nights put Detroit ahead 2-0.

Wilkin Ramirez hit an RBI double for Minnesota in the second, but Avila answered in the bottom half. The Detroit catcher entered the game hitting .176, but sliced a drive over the fence in left-center to make it 3-1.

Worley appeared to be in decent shape until the fifth, when Torii Hunter hit an RBI groundout to make it 4-1. Fielder followed one out later with a line drive that cleared the wall in right in a hurry.

Verlander left his previous start against Kansas City after seven innings with a blister on his pitching thumb, but the injury wasn’t expected to be too serious. He didn’t seem bothered Tuesday, throwing 114 pitches.

Drew Smyly took over in the eighth and struck out one hitter. Al Alburquerque came on in the ninth but walked two, prompting manager Jim Leyland to bring in Joaquin Benoit for the final two outs in what was still a non-save situation. Benoit fanned pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit for the second out of the ninth and Detroit’s 10th strikeout of the game.

NOTES: Minnesota star Joe Mauer snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a third-inning single. … Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a big Tigers fan, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He spent some time before the game commiserating with Hunter and Smyly, who are both from Arkansas. … The Tigers try for a three-game sweep Wednesday. Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez (3-1) takes the mound against Scott Diamond (1-2).

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Twins fans know pitcher Glen Perkins usually comes through with the save of the game. But on Sunday, he came through as a hero for one fan in particular.

Alex Berg reached out to the closer Sunday on Twitter after he says an effort to buy tickets to the game online fell through. Perkins, who gets tons of tweets each day, ended up responding.

After a few questions, Perkins got Alex, his grandma, girlfriend and cousin hooked up with seats.

Alex told WCCO the tweet was simply an “act of desperation.”

He’s a student at Bemidji State University and doesn’t get to many games, but he’s hoping to go to Target Field this summer and thank Perkins in person.

That’s been the formula for these Tigers — starting pitching and power.

Fielder’s towering drive in the sixth inning lifted Detroit to its fourth straight victory Monday night, 4-3 over Minnesota.

The Twins led 3-1 before the slugging first baseman’s homer, and Scherzer struck out the last four men he faced in the seventh and eighth to help preserve the win.

“I was able to pitch ahead in the count, and I thought my fastball-changeup combination really allowed me to get those extra strikeouts at the end,” Scherzer said.

“To keep them from doing any more damage when we got the lead — I thought my two-strike changeup was the pitch that allowed me to get a few extra strikeouts. That’s my pitch.”

Andy Dirks started the go-ahead rally with a bunt single and Miguel Cabrera walked. Fielder hit the first pitch over the wall in left-center for an opposite-field homer. That part of the fence is about 405 feet from home plate.

Scherzer (3-0) allowed three runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out 10 without a walk. Drew Smyly finished the eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth, and Joaquin Benoit finished for his second save.

Mike Pelfrey (2-3) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Dirks also homered for the Tigers, and Josh Willingham went deep for Minnesota.

Pelfrey, who signed with the Twins in the offseason, entered the night with a 7.94 ERA, but for the first five innings he quieted a Detroit lineup that had just scored 25 runs in a three-game sweep of Atlanta.

Then in a blink, the lead was gone when Fielder connected for his sixth homer of the year.

“It’s better than what I’ve done before tonight, but it wasn’t good enough,” Pelfrey said. “I made a horrible pitch and Prince made me pay for it. I was looking for a groundball after I walked Cabrera, and I left a sinker high and in the middle of the plate. He’s pretty strong, and he drove it, so I turned around and just hoped it might hit the fence.”

The previous night it was Cabrera who hit a three-run homer to break the game open against Atlanta. This time it was Fielder.

“Those two guys, they’re well-respected in the league,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “Both liable to strike at any time, and Prince struck at the right time for us.”

The free-swinging Braves struck out 39 times in those three games against the Tigers, but Minnesota has done a good job making contact all season. The Twins entered the day with only 150 strikeouts, the second-fewest in baseball, and they pecked away early against Scherzer.

Willingham opened the scoring in the first with a solo shot, his fifth homer of the year. Two singles and a wild pitch put men on second and third in the second, and an RBI groundout by Aaron Hicks made it 2-0.

Dirks homered in the third, but the Twins answered immediately the next inning with Oswaldo Arcia’s run-scoring double.

But Pelfrey couldn’t hold the Tigers down for long enough, and once Detroit took the lead, the Twins didn’t come close to scoring on Scherzer. He struck out the side in the seventh and fanned Brian Dozier to start the eighth before departing. Scherzer threw 114 pitches.

“He’s unbelievable. He’s got great stuff, the ball is moving all over the place, and he’s throwing one fastball 91 and the next one at 96,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s throwing a great changeup and a great slider, and he’s got different speeds for all of them. He’s one of those guys that you know you have to get to early, because once he gets into a rhythm, he just gets stronger and better.”

Smyly and Benoit finished. Closer Jose Valverde was given the night off after pitching the previous two days.

NOTES: A comebacker by Pedro Florimon appeared to hit Scherzer in the back in the second, but the Detroit right-hander was able to recover and make the play. … Cabrera’s hitting streak ended at 12 games. … Detroit ace Justin Verlander (2-2) takes the mound Tuesday night against Minnesota’s Vance Worley (0-3).

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One Farnsworth student said that it was interesting to see the history of how African-Americans got into major league baseball.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Susie Jones Reports

Twins Spokesman Kevin Smith says Commissioner Bud Selig spearheaded the effort to have young people watch the film.

“Because of the Twins active involvement in youth baseball and softball activities, especially in the inner city, we thought it would be great to get our kids to see this film,” Smith said.

More than 600 kids saw “42″ for free in the Twin Cities.

4.21/4.34… 4.79/4.38… 5.40/4.06… 3.91/4.14…

Those are the ERA’s and xFIP’s (Expected Fielder Independent Pitching, which attempts to isolate pitcher performance from defensive variance) for Twins starter Kevin Correia over the previous four years of his career. Two of those seasons having been spent with the Pirates — two with the Padres.

So, when the Twins signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal this past off-season, it left many baseball fans scratching their head.

In a market full of mediocre starters, why would Twins GM Terry Ryan sign a right-hander, who in no obvious way stood out from the crowd, to a two-year contract when most of the comparable starters were being inked to one-year deals?

While it’s too early in the season to declare complete vindication for Ryan, Correia’s efforts so far seem to bolster the case that Ryan knew exactly what he was doing with the signing.

Coming into Sunday’s start against the Rangers, Correia had an ERA of 2.86 in 28.1 innings pitched. And while his xFIP of 4.06 and baBIP of .283 would seem to indicate that he’s been the beneficiary of more than his fair share of luck, you really can’t argue with his results.

Even he’s cautious to read too much into his early success, “I’m getting balls hit to people right now, and very easily when you go out there and get balls put in play a lot like I do sometimes those things can find a hole and it can seem really hard to get people out. Right now it’s just going my way.”

Conventional wisdom says that pitchers moving from the National to the American League tend to struggle, seeing their strikeout rate drop, on average, by a half-point and their ERA’s rise around a half-run. Over the course of 30+ starts those number can and do have a significant impact.

So far, Correia’s enjoying the transition to the American League style of baseball, “I think if I was in the National League I would probably have maybe 5 less innings than I do right now. Pitching in close games you’re going to get pinch hit for and being able to go out there a little longer, it’s fun. It’s nice to be able to go deeper into games.”

So why is Correia having success where so many others haven’t? Again, one has to stress the importance of the small sample size involved. And the truth is, his numbers don’t provide an obvious answer.

His ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio is almost a full half-point lower than his rate last season. But even though he’s getting fewer ground-outs, his home-run-to-fly-ball ratio is only half has high as last season, so far fewer of the fly balls that he’s surrendering are making their way out of the park.

His strike out rate is right in line with past seasons, though his walk-rate is lower. Fewer free passes means fewer opportunities for cheap runs.

Sunday’s result was Correia’s best yet. He went 8 full innings, scattering 6 hits without giving up a run to a very potent Texas Rangers lineup and dropping his ERA to 2.23 on the season.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said, “He was unbelievable. His success is about throwing it over and working ahead in the count and I think we saw him do that pretty much all day.”

Expectations have to be managed, however. Correia is the first Twins player to start his career with five straight quality starts since Ramon Ortiz in 2007. Ortiz ended up appearing in only 28 games that season with a 5.14 ERA before being traded to Colorado.

So while statistical analysis would seem to indicate that Correia’s due to regress to his career mean at some point, so far in 2013 he’s more than justifying the faith Ryan and the Twins showed in him this past off-season.

Way ahead.

Correia pitched eight sharp innings, Justin Morneau homered and the Twins beat Texas 5-0 Sunday, handing the Rangers consecutive losses for the first time this year.

It took the Twins 37 games to reach 11 wins last season. After Correia’s big day, they’re 11-10.

“That’s our goal, to surprise some people and make a push in this division,” said Correia, who allowed six hits and only one runner to reach third base while lowering his ERA to 2.23. “Right now, being above .500 is a good sign, but we got a long ways to go.”

Mitch Moreland and Lenoys Martin each had two hits for the Rangers.

“He just put the ball where he wanted. Cutter, changeup, sinker,” said A.J. Pierzynski, who caught Correia when the right-hander was in San Francisco. “He’s kind of shortened his slider and throws more cutters and changeups now. Good for him. He’s really turned into a good big league pitcher.”

Correia (3-1) has pitched at least seven innings in each of his first five starts for the Twins after going seven or more only three times all of last season.

The soft-tossing veteran signed a two-year, $10 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason and has been the Twins best starter. Using a fastball that rarely broke 90 mph and a variety of offspeed pitches, Correia retired the first seven batters and set down 11 of the last 12.

“Getting balls hit to people right now,” Correia said. “Right now it’s just going my way.”

Alexi Ogando (2-2) allowed three runs on four hits over six innings.

Ogando looked just as sharp as Correia before walking Josh Willingham in the sixth. On the very next pitch, Ogando hung a slider and Morneau lined it into the right-field bleachers for his second home run, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.

“He had been throwing him breaking balls all day, but he wasn’t throwing it for strikes,” Washington said. “He tried to get one over for a strike. Morneau was sitting on it.”

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the seventh after arguing with third base umpire Alfonso Marquez about a force play on a bunt.

Gardenhire kicked the dirt around home plate and angrily took off his sunglasses as he walked off the field to a standing ovation from the Target Field crowd.

The manager was in a happier mood after the game, thanks to Correia and the fact that Twins pitchers have allowed just two runs in the last 18 innings.

“We went out and made some good signings,” he said. “Hopefully for guys that throw the ball over the plate, give us a chance to stay in the ballgame, get deep in the game. For the most part, they’ve been doing that.”

The fans remained fired up after Jamey Carroll lined a single up the middle that scored Aaron Hicks and made it 4-0 immediately after the ejection.

Brian Dozier followed with another RBI single off Joe Ortiz, one of three relievers Texas used in the inning.

Casey Fien pitched the ninth after Correia was removed after throwing 102 pitches, 65 for strikes.

NOTES: It was Gardenhire’s first ejection this season and the second time he’s been tossed by Marquez in his career. … Correia has one career shutout, against the Reds on April 18, 2011, when he pitched for the Pirates. … At 49-25, the Rangers have the best April record in baseball since 2011. … Five of Ogando’s six starts this season have come on the road. … Twins star Joe Mauer was 0 for 15 in the series, dropping his average from .366 to .302. … The Twins start a 10-game road trip at Detroit on Monday with Mike Pelfrey on the mound. Despite getting 8.47 runs of support per nine innings, Pelfrey is just 2-2 with a 7.94 ERA. … The Rangers are off Monday and host the White Sox on Tuesday. Yu Darvish is scheduled to start the series opener.

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The left-hander pitched five shutout innings for his first major league win, Josh Willingham homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 7-2 Saturday to end a three-game slide.

“I don’t know what to say right now, this is a beautiful experience, it’s a beautiful emotion for me. I’m just so happy,” Hernandez said.

Aaron Hicks got his first major league extra-base hit and made two big defensive plays. Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing and Jared Burton each work a scoreless inning of relief as Minnesota handed Texas its first loss in four games.

“Everybody’s got to be a part of these things,” said manager Ron Gardenhire.

Glen Perkins gave up a two-run double to Mitch Moreland that Hicks lost in the sun.

With so many weather postponements reducing the need for a fifth starter, Hernandez (1-0) was making just his second start — and fourth appearance — for the Twins. His first start was April 7.

In five innings, he allowed just five hits and struck out three. After getting into a third-inning jam, Hernandez retired eight of the final nine hitters he faced.

“Hernandez was fantastic,” Gardenhire said. “We got exactly what we wanted out of him; a nice performance by him, and then we kind of ad-libbed it there until the end.”

A ground-rule double by Ian Kinsler gave the Rangers runners on second and third with one out in the third inning, but Craig Gentry lined out to the shortstop and Adrian Beltre flew out to left field to end the threat.

“He threw a lot of off-speed stuff. He threw a lot of pitches that were hittable. We got hits, but we didn’t swing the bat the way we’re capable of,” said Texas manager Ron Washington. “Gotta give him credit, he kept us off-balance. He went five innings and shut us out.”

Minnesota scored the first run in the bottom half of the third when Hicks — who reached on an error by Moreland — scored on Brian Dozier’s sacrifice fly.

Willingham hit his towering two-run homer in the sixth to make it 3-0.

“I knew there was a base open and in the back of my mind I might get an off-speed pitch. He threw it where he didn’t want to,” Willingham said.

Hicks’ first career extra-base hit, a two-run double, keyed a three-run eighth inning, but it was his diving catch in left-center to rob A.J. Pierzynski in the fourth that appeared to make him happier.

“There was a split-second where I didn’t think I had it, but it hung up there a little bit longer for me,” he said. “I just made the play.”

Hicks, the Twins center fielder, also threw out Nelson Cruz trying to extend a single into a double in the second inning.

Texas starter Derek Holland was outstanding in his first three starts, lasting at least seven innings and allowing no more than two runs in each. But Monday in Anaheim, he allowed six earned runs on six hits while walking four in 5 2-3 innings. He felt as if he pitched well in that contest, but Los Angeles’ hitters forced him into deep counts and took advantage of the free passes.

This time, Holland (1-2) scattered five hits, and allowed four runs — three earned. He had four 1-2-3 innings, but he also threw two wild pitches.

“I thought I was in control. The main thing is just one pitch to Willingham. They got some runs, but that’s the way it is. I kept the damage down for the most part, continued to go out there and unfortunately I didn’t come out on top,” he said.

Joe Mauer, who started at first base for the first time this season in place of Justin Morneau, went hitless for the third straight game and is 2 for 21 in his past six games.

NOTES: When Hicks threw out Cruz, it marked the fourth straight game a Twins outfielder has an assist and fifth in seven games. … Gentry, the Texas center fielder, took a hit away from Eduardo Escobar in the sixth with a diving catch. … Escobar started at third base for the Twins replacing Trevor Plouffe, who had a pair of defensive miscues Friday night. … Texas 3B Jeff Baker returned to the lineup after being out since Tuesday with a bruised right knee. … Right-hander Alexi Ogando (2-1, 3.12) is scheduled to pitch for Texas in Sunday’s series finale against Minnesota right-hander Kevin Correia (2-1, 2.86).

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The first-place Rangers have won six of their last seven games.

Tepesch (2-1) allowed five hits in 6 2-3 innings. He shut the Twins out through six before Josh Willingham homered in the seventh inning to make it 2-1. The rookie right-hander had allowed only two baserunners up to that point and showed no lingering effects from taking a liner off his right forearm in his previous start last weekend against Seattle.

Minnesota starter Vance Worley (0-3) allowed two runs and six hits in five innings.

A night after scoring nine fourth-inning runs in L.A. against the Angels, the bleary-eyed Rangers landed in the Twin Cities at 6 a.m. on Thursday and didn’t look nearly as good against Worley.

They didn’t need to, thanks to Tepesch, who flew ahead to Minnesota the night before. He retired the first 12 batters he faced before Justin Morneau singled up the middle to lead off the fifth.

The Twins finally got to Tepesch in the seventh when Willingham drove a fastball 351 feet into the left-field seats. Chris Parmelee and Trevor Plouffe each followed with two-out singles to chase Tepesch. Robbie Ross relieved to get Ryan Doumit on a groundout to end the inning.

Tanner Scheppers induced Willingham into a based-loaded double play to cap a scoreless eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his seventh save in as many chances.

Cruz, who has RBIs in five-straight games, drove in his club-leading 18th run of the season in the second on a single that scored Adrian Beltre from third. Andrus made it 2-0 in the fifth with a run-scoring double.

Notes: Tepesch has not walked a batter since walking three in the second inning of his debut on April 9. … Andrus has no errors in his last 80 chances, the longest streak of any shortstop in the A.L. … Worley hasn’t won a start since Aug. 1 of last season, when he played for Philadelphia. … Twins C Joe Mauer went hitless for only the fourth time this season.

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Brantly had two doubles and Ricky Nolasco (1-2) allowed two earned runs on six hits in five innings for the Marlins, who won for just the fifth time this season. Miami had a season-high 16 hits, including a double, a single and two RBIs from struggling slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Steve Cishek got his second save.

Joe Mauer had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who beat the Marlins 4-3 in the opener. Mike Pelfrey (2-2) had another rough outing, giving up five runs on nine hits in 4 2-3 innings, and the Twins lost for the first time in six games.

The Marlins entered the night cap with the worst offense in the majors, last in most statistical categories including batting average (.211), runs scored (46) home runs (six), RBIs (44) and on-base percentage (.270).

But they scored three runs in the first inning on a chilly night, then overcame several mistakes to hold off the Twins. Brantly had a two-run double in the first, an RBI-double in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the sixth. Justin Ruggiano and Chris Valaika also drove in runs and Stanton made it 8-4 with a hard-hit single in the eighth for just his third RBI this season.

First-year manager Mike Redmond, who spent five years as a backup catcher for the Twins, watched his young team let a popup fall between their shortstop and leftfielder, give up a three-run inning to the Twins in the third thanks to a wild pitch, a passed ball and a questionable call by first base umpire D.J. Reyburn. Brantly was thrown out at third base on a late tag-up to end the seventh inning.

And they still won.

Pelfrey has had a tough time in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. His longest outing is just 5 1-3 innings and his ERA is up to 7.94. Eduardo Escobar had three hits, including a triple, for the Twins, who got a homer from Oswaldo Arcia and seven strong innings from Kevin Correia to take Game 1.

Arcia’s three-run homer in the fourth backed Correia (2-1), who allowed five hits and struck out five. Brian Dozier had three hits, and Glen Perkins earned his sixth save.

Jose Fernandez (0-2) gave up four runs and six hits for the Marlins.

The teams were supposed to open their series Monday night, but the latest snowstorm put that one on ice. It was the third home game the Twins have had to postpone because of weather this year — there were just five in the first three seasons of Target Field.

Grounds crew members and ballpark personnel worked through the night to clear the heavy, wet snow from the field, seats and stairways. The temperature at first pitch was 38 degrees for Game 1 and a balmy 42 for Game 2, but the field, which has heater coils underneath it to combat cold temperatures, was lush and green.

“I think it’s harder to hit in (the cold weather) than pitch in it,” Correia said. “It’s kind of tough to get a feel on the baseball. I’ve thrown well in the cold. I wouldn’t call myself happy to be out there. I can’t wait for the 70-degree weather to come around.”

Redmond got a nice ovation before the opener. The gregarious Redmond was a favorite in the clubhouse and is etched in Twins lore for his penchant for stripping down and walking around the clubhouse naked when things weren’t going well, his way of trying to insert levity.

“He just knows a lot about the game,” Mauer said. “And the way he related to younger players, especially myself, you kind of knew that he’d be really good at being a manager later on. It’s really exciting for me to see him over there, and it should be fun.”

NOTES: The run Twins RHP Jared Burton allowed in the eighth inning of Game 1 was his first in nine appearances this year. … Both teams are off on Thursday. The Twins open a weekend series with Texas on Friday, and RHP Vance Worley (0-2, 7.11) will start the opener. Miami heads home to face the Chicago Cubs. Marlins RHP Kevin Slowey (0-2, 1.90) will start on Friday against RHP Edwin Jackson (0-3, 4.84).ix games.

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