The Twins had a rough night against Oakland left-hander Brett Anderson, and it didn’t get better when Trevor Plouffe grounded into the eighth triple play in franchise history. Oakland won the game by a score of 4-1.
Anderson was brilliant in his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season. The left-hander allowed one run on four hits. He got some help in the fifth inning when the A’s turned a triple play. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau started the inning with singles, but Trevor Plouffe’s grounder to third was relayed to second and back to first.
It was the seventh triple play in Oakland’s franchise history. The Twins have grounded into eight triple plays, the last coming off former catcher Mike Redmond’s bat in 2007.
Cole De Vries threw 112 pitches in just 5.2 innings, but he kept the Twins close, allowing only two runs on six hits and three walks.
The Twins and Athletics close the series this afternoon. Liam Hendriks was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, replacing Nick Blackburn, and will get the start.
