Athletics blanks vs Twins as Pablo Lopez dominates

Pablo Lopez retired the first 17 batters he faced en route to eight shutout innings, Byron Buxton drove in two runs with a home run and a double, and the Minnesota Twins took a second straight from the host Oakland Athletics with a 3-0 victory Sunday afternoon.

Kyle Farmer added an RBI on an infield out as part of a two-run seventh and Griffin Jax completed Minnesota’s fourth shutout of the season with a scoreless ninth, helping the Twins record a 2-1 series win after dropping Friday’s opener 6-5.

Lopez (7-6) finished with 14 strikeouts against Oakland, matching his career-high. He walked just one.

Lopez struck out 10 of Oakland’s first 17 batters before Lawrence Butler, batting ninth, lined a clean single in front of Twins right fielder Manuel Margot with two outs in the sixth.

Miguel Andujar’s one-out single in the seventh was Oakland’s only other hit off the right-hander, whose eight shutout innings equaled a two-hit, 14-strikeout effort he had at home against the New York Mets last September.

Jax allowed a two-out single to Andujar and needed 16 pitches in the ninth to record his seventh save of the season.

Buxton gave Lopez an early lead with a solo home run off A’s starter Hogan Harris (1-1) with one out in the second. It was his fifth homer of the season.

Byron Buxton launched a baseball to the stratosphere.

112.7 mph, 432 feet.

His fifth of the season, second of the month. pic.twitter.com/A7eUEKiibS

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 23, 2024

Harris dueled Lopez in a 1-0 game into the seventh, when the Twins finally knocked the left-hander out with consecutive singles by Carlos Santana and Willi Castro, and an RBI double by Buxton.

Austin Adams came on to retire three straight batters, but saw the Twins add to their lead when Kyle Farmer’s infield out plated Castro for a 3-0 advantage.

Harris was charged with all three runs on five hits in six-plus innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Santana joined Buxton with two hits for the Twins, who won the season series 6-1 over the A’s. Minnesota totaled just six hits in the win.

Oakland, which completed a 3-3 homestand, was shut out for the eighth time this season. Andujar had two of the A’s three hits.

–Field Level Media

Upcoming schedule for the Oakland Athletics

• Friday, June 21st – Sunday, June 23rd – vs. Minnesota Twins
• Monday, June 24th – Wednesday, June 26th – @ Los Angeles Angels
• Friday, June 28th – Sunday, June 30th – @ Arizona Diamondbacks
• Tuesday, July 2nd – Thursday, July 4th – vs. Los Angeles Angels
• Friday, July 5th – Sunday, July 7th – vs. Baltimore Orioles

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