OAKLAND, Calif. — To commemorate their final appearance ever at Oakland Coliseum, the Twins pitched a combined perfect game.
That’s not how history will record it, but that’s how it felt. One day after Bailey Ober retired the final 17 Athletics batters in a lopsided victory, Pablo López set down the first 17 A’s he faced Sunday en route to a 3-0 shutout, the Twins’ sixth victory over Oakland in seven games this year.
The 34 consecutive batters retired by the Twins, a streak ended when Lawrence Butler lined at two-out single to right field in the sixth inning, is the longest such streak in Twins history.
And what a relief it must have been to López, who had allowed at least one run in all 15 of his starts this season and 28 runs in his last six. López, second in the majors in home runs allowed, hadn’t had a homer-free start since May 9.
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But it was a different López on the mound Sunday, dominating the A’s with sweepers moving out of the strike zone and fastballs above it. He struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and wound up with 14 whiffs overall, tying his career high. He gave up two hits, both singles, and one walk over eight innings
Griffin Jax pitched the ninth, allowing an infield hit but recording his seventh save in nine opportunities.
Byron Buxton smashed a 432-foot home run in the second inning, and three consecutive hits in the seventh, capped by Buxton’s run-scoring double, provided plenty of offense for the Twins’ shut-down starter.
In all, the Twins’ final two games at the Coliseum — where they compiled a 140-179 overall record, including a 2-2 playoff record — included 54 outs among the 62 plate appearances.