The Twins clinched their fourth straight losing season Sunday. What a coincidence: They could hardly have chosen a game that more thoroughly illustrates their current predicament.

The Twins gave up more than twice as much offense as the Vikings, matching their season highs in both runs and hits (19) allowed in a 14-4 drubbing by the L.A. Angels. The loss completed a four-game sweep in Target Field and a 7-0 sweep of the season series by the Angels.

Minnesota started rookie Logan Darnell on the mound, replaced him with rookie A.J. Achter when Darnell melted down, and replaced Achter with rookie Lester Oliveros when he blew up. Like a director staging a horror movie, manager Ron Gardenhire kept summoning newbies into the game at the scariest possible moment: With runners on base and Albert Pujols at the plate. Go figure: Pujols hammered them both.

"What are you going to do? You've got to see what these guys can do, see how they react to it," Gardenhire said. "We're trying to get through a ballgame with those young kids out there and see what they can do. Rough day."

The Angels pounded six Twins pitchers for eight extra-base hits, including home runs by Howie Kendrick, Mike Trout and C.J. Cron.

C.J. Wilson earned his 11th win of the season by shutting down the Twins' offense, with only a one-inning hiccup. Wilson gave up just four hits over 6 â…“ innings, and he even became the third pitcher ever to strike out Joe Mauer 10 times in his career, whiffing the Twins first baseman twice.

"[Wilson] was misfiring early. We were told, you've got to make him throw some pitches, we did that," Gardenhire said. "But once he got a lead, he kind of ran with it."

Injuries pile up

Leadoff hitter Danny Santana missed his first game in seven weeks with a sore lower back, but he said after the game he felt much better. When will he be back in the lineup? "I think I'm OK Tuesday," he said. Meanwhile, closer Glen Perkins remained sidelined by a neck strain; he didn't do any work Sunday but hopes to play catch by Tuesday. And Jordan Schafer, out two days with bruised ribs, said he was available Sunday, the pain he felt when swinging a bat having subsided.

Vargas' noteworthy HR

Kennys Vargas hit one of the longest home runs in Target Field history in the eighth inning, a blast estimated at 451 feet that landed about seven rows of seats below the right-field upper-deck scoreboard. Vargas said he knew it was gone but was careful not to admire it. "When you hit the ball hard, you can feel it going up. When I hit it, I know it's going," said Vargas, who maintains he hit two homers in Class AA that traveled farther. "But I don't see distance or [location]. I run the bases."