Tyler Soderstrom’s 2 HRs power A’s to 14-3 blowout of Twins

Tyler Soderstrom had two home runs and six RBIs and Brent Rooker drove in three runs to lead the Athletics to a 14-3 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Thursday in West Sacramento, Calif.
Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson also homered for the A’s, who snapped a nine-game losing streak. Mitch Spence (2-1) threw five innings of one-run, three-hit ball while striking out four and walking one.
David Festa (0-1) allowed eight runs on six hits across 3 2/3 innings for Minnesota, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
The Athletics struck first as Lawrence Butler laced a leadoff single in the first before Wilson walked and Rooker hit an RBI single. After Festa struck out Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers, Muncy connected on a 410-foot, three-run homer — his second of the season — to give the A’s a 4-0 lead.
Wilson began the bottom of the third with his eighth home run of the season before Soderstrom launched a two-run homer just two batters later to extend the Athletics’ lead to 7-0.
Minnesota got one run back in the fourth when Matt Wallner hit his third homer of the year with one out.
After Butler’s two-out walk in the home half of the fourth, Festa was replaced by Jorge Alcala. Wilson then singled and Rooker walked, leading to Soderstrom’s grand slam to left field to break the game open and give the A’s an 11-1 advantage.
The A’s pushed their lead to 12-1 in the fifth, as Max Schuemann’s single off newly-inserted reliever Kody Funderburk continued the onslaught.
In the sixth, Spence was relieved after 57 pitches for Sean Newcomb, who threw a perfect frame before allowing Ty France’s RBI double and Brooks Lee’s run-scoring single in the seventh to pull the Twins’ deficit to 12-3.
Rooker slashed a two-run double in the seventh off Jonah Bride to extend the lead to 14-3.