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Milone, Twins beat rain, Athletics

[July 06, 2016] MINNEAPOLIS -- A lengthy rain delay didn't affect Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Tommy Milone, as the left-hander fired six strong innings in an 11-4 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night at Target Field.

Both clubs sat out a nearly three-hour delay before Milone started the game with a strike at 9:52 p.m. local time, the latest start in the stadium's seven-year history.

Milone, who struggled in six previous major league starts this season, posted his best performance to date, allowing only a solo home run to Marcus Semien among five hits and a walk. He struck out two.

"The first part of (the rain delay) is a lot of sitting around," Milone said. "And then you start getting ready, start getting loose just in case we are gonna play the game. It's a lot of waiting. It's not ideal, but it's something (where) you have to keep your head in it and (keep) your composure."

Semien's solo shot in the second inning gave Oakland a 1-0 lead, but Milone retired eight of the next nine men he faced, giving Minnesota's bats time to warm up against Oakland left-hander Sean Manaea.

Kennys Vargas had a two-hit night, including a leadoff double in the second inning that eventually led to the Twins' first run. He added a two-run homer in the fifth when Minnesota busted the game open.

Max Kepler and Miguel Sano also homered for Minnesota, which won against Oakland for the first time in five tries this season.

Milone (1-2) was making his seventh start of the season, his third since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester on June 18. The six innings matched his season high.

"There's been a lot surrounding his start tonight, and I try not to overblow it," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He responded. We did see a little more aggressive Tommy, I thought. Tried to get in on some of those right-handed hitters and was successful."

Semien and Danny Valencia each had two hits for the Athletics. Valencia's three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning pulled Oakland within 7-4 before the Twins rallied with four runs in the bottom of the inning, punctuated by Sano's three-run blast.

Manaea (3-5) never seemed comfortable after the delay. He allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings, striking out five.

"It was pretty crazy, I'd never really been a part of that before," Manaea said of the long wait for the start. "I felt fine physically. Things just didn't work out the way I wanted to today."

Eduardo Nunez, Kurt Suzuki, Byron Buxton and Vargas each had two-hit nights for Minnesota. Suzuki also knocked in two and scored twice.

The bottom of the lineup came through when Minnesota took the lead for good in the fourth inning.

Kepler walked with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He scored two batters later on a sharp single into left by Suzuki. Buxton, the No. 9 batter, followed with a double to left field, scoring Suzuki from first for a two-run lead against Manaea.

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The Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics game is under a rain delay at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

"It just seemed like middle of the plate with some stuff," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Manaea. "Early on, he was good, he threw some really good pitches, had some good sequences. Toward the end, he centered up some balls and they got some good swings on them."

Oakland's Jake Smolinski singled in the fifth inning and stole second but was gunned down at the plate by left fielder Danny Santana after a two-out single by Coco Crisp.

Crisp extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Minnesota broke the game open in the fifth, getting a leadoff walk from Robbie Grossman before a two-out, two-run homer by Vargas that barely cleared over the wall -- and a leaping Smolinski -- in left field.

"We were just trying to go inside with heaters and changeups away," Manaea said. "For the most part, I didn't execute that well. I left some pitches over the middle."

On the next pitch, Kepler smashed his sixth homer over the right field fence, giving the Twins a 6-1 lead.

NOTES: Athletics C Josh Phegley had surgery on Tuesday to remove a cyst. Phegley, who was placed on the disabled list on Sunday, is hitting .256 with one homer and 10 RBIs in 78 at-bats this season. He could return shortly after the All-Star break. ... Twins RHP Trevor May was activated from the 15-day disabled list. May, who missed 23 games because of back spasms, has a 6.08 ERA in 29 appearances in 2016. ... Twins LHP Buddy Boshers was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Boshers was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 15 games with Minnesota this season. ... Twins OF Darin Mastroianni was activated from the 15-day disabled list and outrighted off the 40-man roster. Mastroianni has appeared in seven games with the Twins this season, walking twice and stealing a base.

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