Joe Mauer

The Twins ended their 5-game losing streak with a 7-2 win at Oakland Monday night. Oakland's 4-game win streak is snapped. Brian Duensing threw 6 innings with 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) to earn the win and improve to 3-8. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham were each 3-5 with 2 RBIs, Darin Mastroianni went 2-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs and Pedro Florimon went 3-3 with 3 runs scored for the Twins.

The Twins lost 5-3 at Seattle against the Mariners Friday night. Hasashi Iwakuma threw 7 innings with 4 hits and 1 earned run allowed to get the win for the Mariners. Nick Blackburn allowed 11 hits and 5 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss for the Twins. Joe Mauer went 2-4 with a solo homerun and Josh Willingham hit a solo homerun, his 31st. Matt Carson in his Twins' debut was 1-4 with 1 RBI and Pedro Florimon in his Twins' debut was 0-3.

The Tampa Bay Rays downed the Twins 12-6 Friday night to begin a 3-game series. Cole DeVries allowed 7 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) in just 1 1/3 innings to take the loss. He drops to 2-3 and his ERA swells to 4.77. Joe Mauer went 3-4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI and Denard Span was 2-5 with 1 run scored.

Joe Mauer hit a 3-run homerun in the 9th inning off Boston closer Alfredo Aceves to lift the Twins to a 6-4 win over the Red Sox Saturday night. Minnesota score 4 runs off Aceves in the 9th inning. Ben Revere was 3-5 with a run scored and Jamie Carroll was 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI for the Twins. Cole DeVries threw 7 innings with 4 hits and 2 earned runs allowed. Alex Burnett earned the win in relief and Jared Burton threw a scoreless 9th inning for the save.

The National League downed the American League 8-0 Tuesday night in the All Star game in Kansas City. The National League scored 5 runs in the 1st inning off Justin Verlander. Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants was 2-3 with a 2-run homerun to earn MVP honors. Matt Cain of the Giants threw 2 shutout innings to get the win.

Detroit first baseman Prince Fielder won the Homerun Derby at the Major League Baseball All Star festivities Monday night. Fielder defeated Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista 12-7 in the finals.

The Twins defeated the Tigers 8-6 Tuesday night to win their 5th straight game. The Twins scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning before Detroit tied the game with 3 runs in the 4th. Minnesota broke the tie with a sacrifice fly from Ryan Doumit in the 7th inning. Joe Mauer added a solo homerun in the 9th. Mauer was 3-5 with 3 runs scored, Josh Willingham was 2-3 with a homerun and 3 RBIs and Trevor Plouffe added a 2-run homerun.

The American and National League All Stars were chosen Sunday and the lone Twins' representative is catcher Joe Mauer. Mauer was picked by Texas Manager Ron Washington to backup Texas catcher Mike Napoli. Mauer is batting .325 with 4 homeruns and 36 RBIs this season. He leads the American League in on-base-percentage at .416.

The Twins came from behind Sunday afternoon to beat the Reds 4-3. Josh Willingham hit a 2-run homerun off Aroldis Chapman in the 9th inning to turn a 3-2 deficit to a 4-3 lead. Trevor Plouffe hit a solo homerun and Joe Mauer was 2-4 with a run scored for Minnesota. Scott Diamond threw 8 innings with 8 hits and 3 earned runs to get the win and improve to 6-3. Jared Burton threw a scoreless 9th inning to get the save.

The Twins lost 6-0 in Cincinnati to the Reds Saturday afternoon. Johnny Cueto threw 7 shutout innings with 3 hits allowed and 9 strikeouts for the win for the Reds. Brian Duensing made the start for the Twins and allowed 4 hits and 4 earned runs in 3 innings to take the loss. The start was the first this season for Duensing. Joe Mauer was in the lineup at first base with Justin Morneau getting the day off. Mauer, Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit each had 1 hit for the Twins. Mauer had missed 4 games with a bruised quad.