A’s, Thomas leave no doubt
MINNEAPOLIS – Barry Zito kept the Twins off balance with his big curveball and an effective mixture of pitch location and speed. Frank Thomas hit two huge home runs.
It is possible to beat Johan Santana at the quirky Metrodome, as Zito, Thomas and the rest of the A’s proved.
Zito quieted Minnesota and the crowd for eight innings, besting Santana in Oakland’s 3-2 victory over on Tuesday afternoon in the first game of an American League divisional series.
“First blood, I think, means a lot – especially when you’re playing on the road,” said Zito, who gave up four hits, three walks and one run and struck out one.
Minnesota rookie Boof Bonser will start against Esteban Loaiza in Game 2 this afternoon. A season-ending elbow injury to All-Star Francisco Liriano and right-hander Brad Radke’s shaky shoulder have left the rotation looking a little thin.
This is a team that was a whopping 10 1/2 games behind Detroit on Aug. 7, though, before overtaking the Tigers to win the Central Division on the final day. Comebacks are nothing new for them.
“Same as we’ve been doing all year,” said first baseman Justin Morneau, who went 0 for 4. “Everybody’s going to say we’re done again, but we don’t believe that.”
Still, Oakland emerged in excellent shape after beating Santana, who was 16-0 over a span of 23 regular-season starts in which the Twins won every time since Aug. 1, 2005.
“Santana’s probably going to win another Cy Young,” A’s first baseman Nick Swisher said. “For us to overcome the noise and all that stuff and win against him is something special.”
Thomas went 3 for 4, homering in the ninth off Jesse Crain. The 38-year-old became the oldest player to have a multihomer game in postseason history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It was a big day,” Thomas said. “I’m just happy to win this first game, because this is a tough place to win ballgames.”
Closer Huston Street gave one back after a leadoff triple by Michael Cuddyer was lost in the ceiling by right fielder Milton Bradley.
Torii Hunter drove in Cuddyer with a groundout, but Rondell White – who doubled in the fifth and homered in the seventh – flied out to center to end the game.
“This team’s pretty resilient,” said Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the major league batting leader who went 0 for 3 with a walk. “We’ve dealt with coming from behind before. We’re not going to quit until it’s done.”
The stadium was filled with 55,542 fans wiggling those white Homer Hankies and roaring every time Santana so much as made a move on the field in the minutes before the game.
But one out after Thomas homered in the second, Jay Payton singled and Marco Scutaro smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to give Oakland an early 2-0 edge.
Zito ran with it, no-hitting Minnesota through 4 2/3 innings and only twice letting a runner get past second base. The left-hander with the big leg kick and bigger curveball consistently kept the Twins from hitting their sweet spots.
“Everybody’s aware of it, but Zito’s in the same category as Santana,” Street said.
Santana went eight innings and finished with a career playoff-best eight strikeouts.
“Everything was working out pretty good,” said Santana, who allowed five hits and walked one. “I was throwing my fastballs in the corners. Everything was fine. Unfortunately, you make one mistake, and you pay for it. Today we weren’t able to come back.”