Three extras from a holiday matinee:
It's not often you see a game-winning rally started by a baserunning blunder, but that's how Oakland got its three-run seventh going. Danny Valencia doubled off Ricky Nolasco to start the seventh, but the Twins appeared to catch a big break when Valencia broke for third on a two-hopper to shortstop Eduardo Nunez.
That's textbook baseball — what NOT to do — but Nunez's throw was high, and Miguel Sano couldn't catch it and tag Valencia in time. (Actually, umpire Jim Reynolds though he had, but replay corrected him.)
"That was a tough break," Nolasco said. "Not much you can do. Just kept trying to make good quality pitches."
Twins manager Paul Molitor wished Nunez's pitch to Sano had been a little better, but said it's understandable.
"Coming forward like that, it's not a throw you practice a lot," Molitor said. "He let the ball get out there, made it a tougher play. When [Nunez caught] the ball, I think [Valencia] is barely halfway. But between his momentum and Nunez getting himself set, it was enough for him to close the gap and beat out a throw that was off target."
Had the Twins erased Valencia there, the inning probably ends without a run. Instead, the A's scored three and won the game.
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