Young singles in 11th to lift Twins over A's 5-4
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Delmon Young singled in the top of the 11th inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
Justin Morneau, who hit a home run and drove in two runs, doubled against Andrew Bailey (0-2) to lead off the inning. After Jason Kubel struck out, Young's grounder down the first base line barely eluded Daric Barton.
Matt Guerrier (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Jon Rauch pitched the 11th for his 14th save in 16 chances.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twins starter Scott Baker went 7 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Young also drove in a run in the sixth. Kubel added an RBI single for the Twins.
Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a home run and drove in two for the A's, Rajai Davis also hit a home run and Kurt Suzuki, who had two hits, added an RBI.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dallas Braden, winless in five starts since his perfect game on May 9, lasted 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out two.
The A's had won seven of their previous nine home games and entered Friday with the best home ERA (2.79) in the AL.
Baker remained unbeaten in five starts against the A's.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Morneau, who has hit safely in seven straight, hit his 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot with two outs in the first that traveled well up into the right field bleachers.
After Suzuki's infield single scored a run for the A's in the fourth, the Twins added a pair of runs in the sixth to make it 4-1. Kubel singled home a run and Young doubled home another.
Kouzmanoff, who hit a home run for the third consecutive game, a career best, made it 4-3 with his two-run shot off the facing of the second deck in left field.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis' second home run of the season just cleared the fence near the left-field line in the eighth to tie the game and end Baker's night.
Davis owns a .324 batting average (22 for 68) over his last 19 games. He's a lifetime .328 hitter against the Twins.
NOTES: Twins INF Danny Valencia, who made his major league debut Thursday, recorded his first career stolen base, swiping second in the second. It was the first successful steal against Braden since Nick Punto did it for the Twins on Aug. 20, 2008. ... A's 1B Daric Barton doubled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Young has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. ... A's INF Adam Rosales made his third start at shortstop. ... A's LHP Craig Breslow struck out a career-high four batters in 1 2/3 innings.