Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
LA Angels 5, Minnesota 4
When: 8:10 PM ET, Thursday, September 4, 2014
Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature: 80°
Umpires: Home - Paul Emmel, 1B - Bill Welke, 2B - James Hoye, 3B - John Tumpane
Attendance: 21914


Angels 5, Twins 4: Chris Iannetta's sacrifice fly scored pinch runner Tony Campana in the ninth inning as host Los Angeles won the opener of its four-game series with Minnesota.

David Freese ripped a ground-rule double to lead off the ninth against Glen Perkins (3-2). Campana replaced Freese on the basepaths and advanced to third on John McDonald's sacrifice bunt before scoring on Iannetta's pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left.

Howie Kendrick ripped a two-run double and Erick Aybar had an RBI single and scored on Freese's double in the fourth inning for the Angels, who increased their lead over idle Oakland to five games in the American League West. Joe Smith (6-2) struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief before Huston Street overcame a pair of singles to lead off the ninth to secure his 36th save.

Eduardo Nunez belted a three-run homer and Brian Dozier had an RBI double for the Twins, who have dropped nine of their last 12. Kyle Gibson allowed four runs on seven hits in as many innings before walking away with a no-decision.

After Los Angeles jumped out to a 4-0 lead, Minnesota chipped away as Dozier's double to left plated Danny Santana in the fifth. Nunez forged a tie in the following frame after depositing a 2-0 changeup from Hector Santiago over the wall in left-center field for his fourth homer - and first since July 1.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Angels LF Josh Hamilton exited the contest prior to the bottom of the eighth inning with a sore AC joint in his right shoulder. Hamilton, who ruled himself out for Friday's contest, was replaced in the field by Collin Cowgill. ... Pitching for the first time since Aug. 27, Santiago received a no-decision after yielding four runs on eight hits in five innings. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia declared that RHP Cory Rasmus will start Saturday's contest while the Twins have elected to skip LHP Tommy Milone's outing on Sunday due to shoulder fatigue.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Minnesota
Hector Santiago Player Kyle Gibson
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.0 IP 7.0
3 Strikeouts 1
8 Hits 7
7.20 ERA 5.14
Hitting
LA Angels   Minnesota
Erick Aybar Player Kurt Suzuki
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
0 HR 0
2 TB 2
.500 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 10 0 13 .303 11 1 4 2 0 0
Minnesota 11 1 16 .306 18 9 4 4 1 1