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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As Eddie Rosario leaned against his locker and checked the hundreds of congratulatory text messages and voicemails, his grin was still a mile wide.
Rosario homered on the first pitch he saw in his major league career, Eduardo Escobar homered and had five RBIs and the Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 13-0 on Wednesday night.
"This at-bat I dreamed about my whole life," said Rosario, who had five family members from Puerto Rico in the stands and plans to give the ball to his father and grandfather.
"Everybody try their first at-bat for a home run, base hit. It's your moment."
Rosario's milestone homer traveled about 400 feet into the seats in left field and gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead in the third inning. He is the 29th major leaguer to homer on his first pitch and the 117th to go deep in his first at-bat.
In the eighth, fans cheered Rosario after he hit a long fly ball that fell into the glove of center fielder Billy Burns just in front of the 411-foot sign.
"You know you've left an impression on the fans when they cheer your fly balls," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Escobar homered off Scott Kazmir (2-1) in the sixth and hit a two-run double in the seventh. Kennys Vargas added a three-run homer in the eighth.
Kyle Gibson (3-2) pitched six innings and ran his scoreless streak to 17 innings. The right-hander is a big reason Minnesota is 15-13 after starting the season 1-6.
Rosario grinned as he rounded the bases following his home run. After touching home plate, the rookie raced into the dugout where his teammates gave him the silent treatment.
The players on the bench eventually cracked and engulfed Rosario, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester two days ago, with high-fives and back slaps.
"I knew the guys were going to try to do something," Rosario said.
Brett Lawrie had two hits for the A's to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, which is the longest active streak in the American League.
Oakland hasn't won consecutive games since April 13-14.
"It's very frustrating," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "There was a great feeling in here yesterday when we won a hard-fought game, one run and then today we have Kaz going to the mound, and we feel good about it. We just couldn't put together a good game."
CRISP RETURNS
The A's activated OF Coco Crisp from the DL and hit him leadoff. The 35-year-old missed the first five weeks of the season following right elbow surgery. Veteran Craig Gentry, mired in a 3-for-35 slump, was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
ROSARIO MAKES TWINS' HISTORY
Six Twins have homered in their first at-bat, with the most recent being Luke Hughes on April 28, 2010. Rosario is the first Twin to go deep on the first pitch he's seen.
Rosario is the 13th Twin to homer in his MLB debut, joining the likes of Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tim Laudner.
TRAINER'S ROOM:
Athletics: Melvin said Ben Zobrist isn't hitting yet as he continues rehabbing from left knee surgery, but could begin taking swings shortly.
Twins: GM Terry Ryan said relief pitcher Tim Stauffer (right intercostal strain) has started throwing. Fellow reliever Casey Fien (right shoulder strain) still doesn't feel well enough to throw.
UP NEXT:
Rain is in the forecast for Thursday afternoon's series finale. If the game is played, Ricky Nolasco (1-1, 10.13) is set to make his second start since coming off the DL for the Twins. He will face Drew Pomeranz (1-2, 4.61), who is 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA over his past four starts.
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