MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — y night to snap their two-game skid: efficient starting pitching Tony Oliva Jersey , sharp singles, sacrifice flies and even their first bunt-single of the year.And oh yes, home runs.Sean Manaea (12-9) stifled Minnesota’s batters into the sixth inning, and Matt Chapman broke things open with a three-run homer and the A’s beat the Twins 7-1 on Friday night to maintain their hold on the AL’s final wild-card spot.Stephen Piscotty and Ramon Laureano added a ninth-inning shot each as the A’s did just enough against Twins starter Jake Odorizzi (5-8) before pouncing on the bullpen.“We’ve been playing so well and all of a sudden we have two losses in a row, which we haven’t had in a while now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “So now it’s time to respond and they did.”After giving up some early runs in their last two losses, the A’s got back to the winning formula that helped them ramp up their pursuit of Houston in the AL West.Manaea recovered nicely from a rough outing against Houston last weekend. He yielded an unearned run, five hits and a walk with one strikeout. He threw 50 of his 67 pitches for strikes before manager Melvin pulled him for Lou Trivino after Eddie Rosario’s leadoff single in the sixth.“We have a full ‘pen today, and based on the last couple of starts I didn’t want to get him into a jam where he had a chance to take a loss,” Melvin said.Up to that point, Odorizzi had pitched well himself, also allowing only one earned run off five hits and one walk. But Oliver Drake relieved Odorizzi in the eighth and found himself in trouble quickly, allowing a single and a walk before Chapman’s 18th homer http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , a shot to right that made it 5-1.“Good teams can beat you in many different ways, whether it’s bunting to beat the shift, or it’s home runs or flare singles into right center, whatever,” said Jonathan Lucroy, whose RBI single in the fifth made it 2-1. “You’ve got to have a lot of weapons. You can just be one-sided with homers. We’ve got to beat you a lot of different ways.”Eddie Rosario scored Minnesota’s lone run in the fourth on Miguel Sano’s sac-fly to center.THAT’S A FIRSTJed Lowrie’s bunt single in the first inning against the shift extended his hitting streak to four games.“I thought they’d mistaken me for Joey Gallo,” Lowrie quipped of the Texas Rangers infielder. “I’ve never had four outfielders before. But I like hits.”ODORIZZI’S STREAKOdorizzi pitched seven innings for the first time this season after opening the year with 26 consecutive starts without an out in the seventh — the longest such streak in major league history. The Twins right-hander allowed one earned run, five hits and a walk.“I wouldn’t say it’s a breakthrough,” Odorizzi said. “It’s nice to get the results when you feel like you’re feeling good and throwing the ball well.”His lone fifth-inning walk proved costly when Odorizzi’s bad throw to second off a grounder allowed Lowrie to reach third and later score on Matt Olson’s sacrifice fly.MAUER’S MILESTONEThe crowd gave Joe Mauer a standing ovation after he singled off Manaea in the fifth for his 2,086th career hit, moving him past Rod Carew for second-most hits in club history behind Kirby Puckett’s 2,304.“It was pretty special to see the guys at the top step, and the fans on their feet. That really means a lot Kennys Vargas Jersey ,” Mauer said.Manaea ended the two-on, two-out threat by inducing Logan Forsythe into a pop-fly to center.TRAINER’S ROOMTwins: Placed C Bobby Wilson on the 10-day DL with a sprained right ankle he injured Thursday night. The Twins called up Willians Astudillo from Triple-A Rochester. … Manager Paul Molitor said there’s enough lack of extension in RHP Ervin Santana’s injured finger to shut down all throwing activities.PLAYERS WEEKENDThe teams rolled out their players’ weekend jerseys, complete with nicknames across their shoulders. Among the highlights:“Manaelator” (Manaea)“Jedi” (Lowrie, although his nickname was officially listed “Capt. Barrel”)“Sauce” (Marcus Semien)“Logie Bear” (Logan Forsythe)“Garv Sauce” (Mitch Garver)And reserved hometown favorite Mauer? “Mauer”UP NEXT:Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers (9-6) takes the mound for his fourth start since joining the A’s from Detroit on Aug. 6. He’s 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA in three starts with Oakland.Twins: Rookie RHP Stephen Gonsalves (0-1) makes his second career start. The touted prospect allowed four runs, six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings Monday against the Chicago White Sox. SAN FRANCISCO — Clayton Kershaw will attempt to pitch the Los Angeles Dodgers into the postseason for the sixth consecutive season Saturday afternoon when he faces the San Francisco Giants on the second-to-last day of the regular season.The Dodgers (89-71) begin the day two games ahead of St. Louis (87-73) in the National League wild-card race with just two games to play.One more Dodgers win or Cardinals loss would send the defending NL champions back to the playoffs. St. Louis visits the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.Article continues below ...Los Angeles also remains alive in the chase for the NL West title, trailing Colorado (90-70) by one game. The Rockies could clinch the West crown on Saturday with a home win over Washington and a Dodgers loss in San Francisco.Kershaw (9-5, 2.53 ERA) will take the mound as the winningest visiting pitcher in the 19-year history of AT&T Park with a 13-4 record and 1.30 ERA in 22 games, including 21 starts.He owns a 22-10 overall record and 1.58 ERA against the Giants in 44 career meetings (43 starts), with his 22 wins ranking as the most for a Giants opponent since Greg Maddux retired with 31 in 2008.Kershaw has not lost since July 21 at Milwaukee, an 11-start run in which he’s gone 6-0.That stretch includes receiving a no-decision in a 5-2 loss to San Francisco on Aug. 13 in Los Angeles, a game in which the Giants scored four times in the ninth off Dodgers reliever Scott Alexander to rally from a 2-1 deficit. Kershaw gave up just one run in his eight innings in that game.Kershaw has dominated many of the Giants regulars over his career, including Hunter Pence (.186), Evan Longoria (.154) and Brandon Crawford (.125).The left-hander will be facing a Giants team that has been held to two runs or fewer in 10 of its last 12 home games http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , and that grounded into a season-worst five double plays in Friday’s 3-1 loss in the series opener.The 30-year-old has never pitched against Saturday’s opponent, right-hander Dereck Rodriguez (6-4, 2.50), but did face his dad, Ivan, five times, with the Hall of Fame catcher going 1-for-4 with a sacrifice.Dereck Rodriguez has a chance to write a piece of personal history in his first-ever start against the Dodgers.The 26-year-old has a chance to become the first rookie since Jose Fernandez (2.19) in 2013 to record an ERA of 2.50 or lower with 15 or more starts.Rodriguez is winless in his last six starts, going 0-3 over that stretch.He will have to deal with a Dodgers club that’s won 11 of its last 17 games on the road, and in particular with Justin Turner, whose two-run home run off Madison Bumgarner on Friday night broke a fifth-inning tie and gave Los Angeles the lead for good.Turner has gone 10-for-28 (.357) in seven games against the Giants this season, with hits in all seven, including four doubles and two homers.The Giants retain a 9-8 lead in the season series heading into the final two meetings.