Carter and the A's have a lot to smile about lately. (Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE)

TURNING POINT:  After the A’s let Brian Duensing off the hook somewhat in the 1st inning, the Twins got one of those runs back as Parker failed to convert the shutdown inning.  As the A’s took to the plate again in the 2nd they hoped to get that run back.  After a 1 out Jemile Weeks single Jonny Gomes came to the plate looking to swing for the fences.  Jonny connected on a 0-1 pitch from Duensing and knew he’d taken him deep.  Josh Reddick grounded out, but Yoenis Cespedes showed how unimpressed he was with Duensing’s stuff by punishing a breaking ball over the center field wall.  Then Chris Carter decided he was not to be outdone, he obliterated a ball to right center field off the “Jack Link’s Beef Jerky” sign on the facade of the second deck as Ray Fosse repeated throughout the broadcast (Perhaps Jack Link’s will be a new companion to Dreyer’s Dibs?).  It was 6-1, Duensing would be out of the game, the A’s put him on the hook for good.

ON THE HILL:  Jarrod Parker has been a little off kilter over his last couple starts now, he pitched 6 innings and allowed 4 ER on 9 hits with 4 strikeouts, the silver lining of the day though is that he didn’t walk a single batter (No A’s pitcher surrendered a walk today).  Jerry Blevins continued to pitch effectively this season with 1.2 innings of complete domination with 2 K’s.  Evan Scribner, mop up extraordinaire finished the last 1.1 innings of the game, allowing just a single hit to seal the sweep for the Athletics.

AT THE PLATE:  Lots to talk about for the A’s at the dish again today, another 4 home runs for the first back to back 4 homer games since 2001.  Yoenis Cespedes and Jonny Gomes led the charge though with a 4-5 day with 3 RBI and the HR for Cespedes, and 3-4 with a 2 run dinger and 3 runs scored for Jonny.  Chris Carter showed impressive plate discipline drawing 3 walks today, he waited for his pitch and took it deep.  Carter is showing incredible patience that was nonexistent in his previous stints with the A’s, I for one am very excited to see what he can do as the season rolls on.  Seth Smith accounted for the 4th homer of the day for the A’s, his 10th of the year (A ball that travelled far, but looked like a pop up off the bat to me).  The A’s now have 5 players who have hit double digits in the HR column and have hit 92 homers this year in 89 games, again they had 114 all of last year.  As RF will display on Tuesday, “the Bash is Back” indeed.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  The A’s couldn’t possibly be in any better position entering their biggest test of the season this week.  With their win and losses by basically every other team aside from the Tigers in the wildcard race, they are now just 1/2 game behind the Orioles for the 2nd wildcard spot.  It’s conceivable that by game time on Tuesday the A’s could be tied for that spot if the Twins can beat the Orioles tomorrow night in Minneapolis.  The A’s are playing with a ton of confidence, and they did win 3 of 4 from the Texas Rangers last time they came to Oakland so they know they can beat them.  Two cagey veterans will face off Tuesday night as Bartolo Colon (6-7, 3.80 ERA) takes the mound against Roy Oswalt (2-1, 6.26 ERA).  Oswalt has not been his dominant self of the past, perhaps age and the fact that he didn’t sign until midseason are playing a role.  I have to say I like the lineup a lot more with Smith playing the field, and right now Coco Crisp‘s injured shoulder is helping that situation.  Here’s to the A’s bringing the longball back to the O.co, Oakland chicks dig the longball you know.

July 14, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Chris Carter (22) hits a home run during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

TURNING POINT:  In a lopsided victory like tonight’s 9-3 contest, it’s hard to pinpoint any moment that the pendulum swung one way or the other, but the Twins had one chance to make this a game again in the bottom of the 6th inning.  Milone got into immediate trouble when he walked Joe Mauer, gave up a single to Josh Willingham, and surrendered a RBI single to Justin Morneau.  After a Trevor Plouffe single the bases were loaded with nobody out.  Designated Hitter Ryan Doumit hit a come-backer to Milone to snuff out the first potential run.  Then Milone induced a double play ball off the bat of Brian Dozier to end the inning and squash the threat.

ON THE MOUND:  Tommy Milone wasn’t at his sharpest tonight, but considering some of the road outings he’s had this year it wasn’t bad at all.  Over his 6 innings of work Milone scattered 10 hits and a walk while allowing just 2 ER with 4 strikeouts.  Milone earned his team leading 9th win of 2012.  Jordan Norberto pitched 1.1 innings and allowed 1 ER on yet another home run by Josh Willingham (His 22nd of the year).  Evan Scribner pitched 0.2 innings and allowed a hit and a walk but no runs.  Jerry Blevins pitched a clean 9th inning to mop up the win for the A’s.

AT THE PLATE:  The A’s had the longball working tonight in impressive form.  Chris Carter hit a 3 run homer, Yoenis Cespedes hit a 2 run homer, and Seth Smith and Brandon Moss added solo shots of their own.  Smith narrowly missed a second homer with his RBI triple in the 9th inning to go along with his long home run.  Josh Reddick helped set the table for the rest of the A’s by going 3-5 and scoring twice.  Kurt Suzuki showed some signs of life with 2 hits of his own, and scored a run on Smith’s triple.  Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington were the only two who didn’t join the hit parade tonight.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  As everyone continues to get more excited about what we have seen lately from the A’s who are now 45-43 and remain just 1.5 games out of the 2nd wild card spot.  For a team that has any visions of contention, winning series against teams who are down like the Minnesota Twins is essential.  The A’s have hit 88 home runs this season in 88 games, pretty impressive considering they hit 114 all of last year.  The A’s will go for the revenge sweep against the Twins tomorrow afternoon as they prepare for a huge test next week.  Jarrod Parker takes the mound, looking to rebound from his shaky outing against the Seattle Mariners last weekend.  Nevertheless Parker has a 5-4 record with a 2.86 ERA, he’ll oppose Brian Duensing (1-5, 4.11 ERA).  The A’s can make a real statement by continuing to punish pitchers with the home run ball and sweeping the Twins in their own home.  Time to put the pedal to the metal.