A’S PUSH WIN STREAK TO 11

OAKLAND — The A’s were a pitch away on two occasions from the end of a 10-game win streak only to see the Minnesota Twins throw it away in the bottom of the 10th inning.

An infield error and a throwing error led to three runs as the A’s won their 11th straight game Wednesday before a getaway day crowd of 3,405 at the Coliseum.

Minnesota had taken the lead in the top of the 10th on a two-run home run by Byron Buxton against Lou Trivino.

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th, second baseman Taylor Blankenship booted what would have been the final play of the game to bring the A’s to 12-11, and then third baseman Luis Arraez threw away Ramon Laureano’s ground ball enabling the winning runs to score.

After shutting out the Twins for 14 innings and eight hits in doubleheader sweep Tuesday, A’s pitchers gave up 18 hits and four home runs and still won. Nelson Cruz hit a pair for Minnesota (Nos. 5 and 6) and Josh Donaldson added his first before Buxton unloaded his sixth home run of the season in the 10th with a free runner at second.

A’s pitchers had given up 21 runs in the previous 10 games during the win streak.

The A’s had three home runs, including a pair by Matt Olson (Nos. 5 and 6) and one by Seth Brown (his third).

Matt Chapman tied the score in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly against reliever Alex Colome. It brought home Ramon Laureano, who opened the inning being hit by a pitch, and then went to third when Matt Olson delivered a single to right.

Colome (2-1) took the loss, with the A’s scoring a run on an infield error in the 10th but leaving the bases loaded.

The A’s got within 10-9 on Jed Lowrie’s two-run double against Taylor Rogers in the sixth inning.

Brown opened with his third hit, a single, and was forced at second by Elvis Andrus. Mark Canha reached with a grounder to third got stuck in the webbing of Donaldson’s glove at third for an infield hit.

After Laureno struck out, Lowrie greeted Rogers with a double to right-center to drive in both runs. Buxton’s diving catch on a drive by Olson ended the inning.

Minnesota scratched out three run against A’s reliever Sergio Romo for a 10-7 lead in the top of the sixth inning, with Cruz delivering a run on a groundout and Jorge Polanco and Willians Astudillo delivering run-scoring singles.

Frankie Montas didn’t last the fifth and defensive lapses by the A’s led to a 7-7 tie heading in to the bot

tom of the fifth.

Cruz led off the inning with a home run to left off Montas, his second of the game, and Buxton singled to chase the A’s starter from the game.

Polanco’s single to left, and a throwing error by right fielder Seth Brown, left runners on second and third, with a wild pitch from reliever J.B. Wendelken tying the game. Wendelken retired Astudillo, with the runners holding, but Jake Cave shot a ground ball to second that went under the glove of Lowrie for an error to bring home another run and tie the game 7-7.

Two-run home runs by Olson and Brown in the bottom of the third inning put the A’s up 7-4.

Olson’s second homer came following a leadoff double by Lowrie and landed in the camera stand in dead center field. After Twins starter Kenta Maeda recorded two outs, Murphy singled and Brown homered to right to give the A’s a three-run lead.

That would be it for Maeda, who finished the inning before giving way to Tyler Duffey.

The Twins took the lead against Montas striking quickly in the third inning as Arraez hit a ground-rule double to center over the head of Laureano, Donaldson singled him home and then Cruz launched a two-run home run to left field to put Minnesota up 4-3.

Two more runners reached against Montas on a single by Polanco and a wild pitch strikeout to Cave. By the time Brent Rooker struck out, Montas had thrown 55 pitches and given up seven hits through three innings.

Trailing 1-0, Olson tied it leading off the second with a home run to right-center field, with Mitch Moreland reaching with one out after being hit by a pitch. Murphy flied out, but was followed by a single from Brown.

Andrus, who was hitting .136 despite making decent contact of late, drove a firstpitch single to center to drive in Moreland and give the A’s a 2-1 lead. Canha hit an infield single off the glove of Maeda, and then Brown raced home on a wild pitch to put the A’s up 3-1.