Zito sends Athletics to a victory over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — In the place where Johan Santana usually can't be beaten, Barry Zito and Frank Thomas slowed Minnesota's momentum and gave Oakland a big boost to start this AL division series.

Zito threw eight innings, besting Santana behind two big home runs by Thomas and sending the Athletics to a 3-2 victory over the Twins on Tuesday afternoon.

Minnesota rookie Boof Bonser will start against Oakland's Esteban Loaiza in Game 2 Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas went 3-for-4 with two homers, the last one a ninth-inning shot off Jesse Crain. Zito gave up four hits, one run and three walks while striking out one.

The 38-year-old Thomas became the oldest player to have a multihomer game in postseason history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Closer Huston Street gave one back to the Twins after a leadoff triple by Michael Cuddyer was lost in the ceiling by right fielder Milton Bradley. Torii Hunter drove in Cuddyer with a groundout before Rondell White flew out to center to end the game.

The favorite to win his second AL Cy Young, Santana hadn't lost at the noisy Metrodome since Aug. 1, 2005, going 16-0 in 23 starts over that span.

The place was packed, of course, with 55,542 fans wiggling those white Homer Hankies and roaring every time Santana so much as made a move on the field in the minutes before the game.

But Zito and Thomas quieted the crowd early and set the tone for the series.

One out after the home run by Thomas in the second, Jay Payton singled and Marco Scutaro smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to give Oakland an early 2-0 edge.

The seventh was also a struggle, though Santana should've been out of the inning because Jason Bartlett muffed a sure double-play grounder to shortstop. A two-out walk to Nick Swisher loaded the bases, but after a visit to the mound by pitching coach Rick Anderson, Santana retired Scutaro and Mark Ellis on consecutive short fly balls to escape.

Santana went eight innings and finished with a career playoff-best eight strikeouts. He allowed five hits and walked one.

But Zito didn't have nearly as many scares, silencing a Twins lineup that helped lead the surge back from 12 games back in the AL Central this summer to overtake the Detroit Tigers on the final day of the regular season.