Mark Kotsay and the Oakland Athletics should return home to a hero's welcome following two straight victories over the Twins, but the biggest cheer could be saved for Minnesota's Torii Hunter.

The Twins centre-fielder misjudged a sinking line drive in the seventh inning Wednesday, allowing Kotsay to round the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run that paved the way for a 5-2 Oakland victory.

Athletics centre-fielder Mark Kotsay crosses home plate following his game-winning, two-run inside-the-park home run on Wednesday.
(Jim Mone/Associated Press)

"It was the worst feeling in the world. You can't do anything about it," said Hunter, who took sole responsibility for the defeat.

With the win, the A's took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series. Game 3 is set for Friday at 4:09 p.m. ET.

Hunter's gaffe silenced a raucous Metrodome crowd that watched Minnesota erase a 2-0 deficit in the sixth inning on solo home runs by Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau.

With two outs in the seventh, Kotsay hit what should have been a single off Twins reliever Dennys Reyes. Hunter made a stab at the ball, only to have it elude him and roll to the wall while Jason Kendall and Kotsay made their way home.

"There's only one person in this league that can make that catch and it's Torii," said Cuddyer, who watched from right field. "Although it's as close as you come, he's not Superman."

Kotsay became the second Oakland player to hit an inside-the-park homer in the post-season, four years to the day after Ray Durham accomplished the feat — also in Minnesota.

"Once you commit, you're kind of in no-man's land, and it's best to go," said Kotsay, also a centre-fielder. "He [Hunter] went and for his sake, unfortunately, the ball took off."

Leading 4-2, Oakland added an insurance run in the ninth inning when Nick Swisher scored from third base on a Joe Nathan wild pitch.

Minnesota threatened in their last at-bat, but third baseman Nick Punto flied out to left field with runners on first and second to put his team on the brink of elimination.

In four division series from 2000-03, the A's had nine chances to clinch and advance to the AL Championship Series and lost each time.

"We're hard-nosed baseball players that like to play the game," said A's third baseman Eric Chavez. "I don't think anybody here, regardless if they've been in this position, is going to take Game 3 lightly."

Kiko Calero earned the victory Wednesday in relief of Oakland starter Esteban Loaiza, who remains winless in five career playoff contests.

Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save in as many days.

Runners stranded

For the second straight game, Minnesota failed to hit in the clutch with any consistency — leaving nine runners on base — and failed to get the leadoff man on base in eight of the nine innings.

The Twins left six runners on through the first five frames against Loaiza, who exited the game following Morneau's first-ever playoff home run.

Early on, Loaiza went pitch-for-pitch with Minnesota rookie Boof Bonser, who gave his team six solid innings (two earned runs, three strikeouts).

Pat Neshek took the loss, yielding one run in two-thirds of an inning.

Oakland opened the scoring in the fifth inning on a pair of back-to-back doubles by Swisher and Marco Scutaro.

After a Mark Ellis groundout advanced Scutaro to third base, Kendall made it 2-0 on a single to left field.

Oakland's Dan Haren is slated to start Game 3 against Brad Radke.

With files from the Associated Press