Rosario homers on first MLB pitch as Twins rout A's
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Eddie Rosario homered in his first MLB at-bat and the Minnesota Twins hit three in all in a 13-0 rout of the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
Rosario, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester two days ago, homered on the first pitch he saw from A's left-hander Scott Kazmir in the third inning. He became the first Twins player to homer on his first big league pitch and just the 29th in Major League history to accomplish the feat.
"It was an awesome moment," said Rosario. "First at-bat. First pitch."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rosario, who made the start in right field and hit eighth, also became the sixth Twins player to homer in the first at-bat of a career. The last to do so for Minnesota was Luke Hughes against the Tigers on April 28, 2010.
Eduardo Escobar went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and five RBI for the Twins, who improved to 7-3 on their 11-game homestand. Kennys Vargas added a three- run homer.
Minnesota starter Kyle Gibson (3-2) gave up four hits over six scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly allowed two hits in the seventh and J.R. Graham pitched the final two frames.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oakland outfielder Coco Crisp went 0-for-4 in his season debut. He began the season on the disabled list after having arthroscopic surgery last month to remove loose bodies and damaged tissue in his right elbow joint.
The 35-year-old veteran's recovery was expected to take between six and eight weeks, but he was back on the field in under five.
Kazmir (2-1) allowed six runs on seven hits over six innings for Oakland, which hasn't won consecutive games since April 13-14.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's very frustrating," said A's manager Bob Melvin. "There was a great feeling in here yesterday when we won a hard-fought game, one run and then today we have Kaz going to the mound, and we feel good about it. We just couldn't put together a good game."
With his family in the stands, Rosario led off the third with a blast to left. Rosario's family, which included his father, Eddie Sr., and mother, Maria, all had their smartphones out to record the moment. The group stood as the ball sailed into the stands and cheered wildly as Rosario circled the bases.
The 23-year-old Rosario raced into the dugout, where his teammates gave him the silent treatment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I know the guys are going to try to do something," said Rosario. "That's the way it is."
Danny Santana followed with a triple and Brian Dozier walked before Torii Hunter and Trevor Plouffe hit RBI singles. Hunter advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Escobar's sacrifice fly for a 4-0 lead.
Escobar hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 6-0.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Twins tacked on four more runs off Chad Smith in the seventh. With the bases loaded and no outs, Joe Mauer hit an RBI single to left. Plouffe's RBI groundout and Escobar's two-run double then made it 10-0.
Vargas hit a three-run homer off R.J. Alvarez in the eighth.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brett Lawrie had two hits for the A's to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, which is the longest active streak in the American League ... The last player to homer on his first pitch was Pittsburgh's Starling Marte on July 26, 2012 ... Oakland activated Crisp from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game and optioned fellow outfielder Craig Gentry to Triple-A Nashville ... Kazmir fell to 7-5 lifetime against the Twins ... The A's went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven.