Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Luke Hughes belted a two-run homer to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hughes' decisive blast came in the fifth inning of a tie game, as the Twins evened this three-game series after suffering a 15-0 shellacking on Monday night. Ben Revere and Jason Repko each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the victors, who put the brakes on a six-game skid.
Brian Duensing (5-7) allowed four runs on four hits over five-plus innings to earn the win and Matt Capps worked around two ninth-inning walks to record his 12th save of the season. Ted Lilly (5-8) allowed six runs on nine hits over just 4 2/3 to suffer the loss. Andre Ethier went 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Dodgers, who saw their brief two-game win streak come to an end.
After being blanked the night before, the Twins got on the board early, as Revere led off the first with a single to left and advanced to third on a sac bunt by Alexi Casilla and a subsequent steal. Joe Mauer then brought Revere home with a single up the middle. Revere delivered again in the second, as he laced a two-out single to score Jason Repko from third. Casilla then plated Revere with a double to left, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.
Matt Kemp got the Dodgers on the board with a sac fly in the fourth, which scored Tony Gwynn Jr. Repko was hit by a pitch to begin the home half of the fourth. He stole second, then came home on Rene Rivera's single, which deflected off the glove of Aaron Miles, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead.
With one down in the fifth, Miles atoned with a solo shot to left. Later in the frame, the Dodgers loaded the bases with two down and Ethier delivered, ripping a single up the middle to plate A.J. Ellis and Jamey Carroll and knot the game at four apiece. "He was tough on us for awhile," Casey Blake said of Duensing. "We finally got to him and scored some runs."
The game was not tied for long, however, as Lilly left a sinker up in the zone in the bottom of the fifth and Hughes capitalized with a two-run shot, which barely cleared the wall in left. "We just couldn't keep them from scoring," Blake went on to say. "Hughes had a big two-run homer to win it for them."
In the seventh, with two down and Carroll on second, Blake ripped a grounder between third and short. Carroll rounded third with a head of steam, but Repko tossed a one-hop seed from left and Rivera snared the ball and reached across his body to tag the sliding Carroll, saving a run in the process. The Dodgers placed men on first and second with two down in the ninth, but Capps induced Blake into a game-ending groundout to second.
Game Notes
Lilly did not issue a walk in the contest. In 29 starts since being traded to the Dodgers, Lilly has not walked more than two batters in a game, which is the longest active streak in the majors...The Dodgers' 15-0 victory on Monday stands as the largest margin of victory ever posted in a shutout by the visiting team in interleague play...Joe Mauer is 17-for-27 in seven career games versus the Dodgers.
For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.