Instead, the Gold Glove centre-fielder made an ill-advised dive for a sinking line drive. Sprawled on the turf, he could only watch as Mark Kotsay circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run that lifted the Oakland Athletics over Minnesota 5-2 Wednesday for a 2-0 lead in their AL playoff series.

A's starter Esteban Loaiza slipped in the sixth inning, surrendering consecutive solo homers to Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., that evened the game 2-2.

But with Jason Kendall on first base, two outs in the seventh and reliever Dennys Reyes pitching, Kotsay hit what should have been a single. Hunter, bothered by a sore left foot this season, charged forward and tried to make the catch.

The five-time Gold Glover missed _ by a lot _ and the ball rolled to the wall. Kotsay raced all the way around to give Oakland a 4-2 lead.

The A's handled the Boof _ Bonser, that is _ and here's the truth: These perennial playoff underperformers have arrived at yet another elimination game. They're 0-9 in those since 2000, losing four straight first-round series.

The series shifts west for Game 3 Friday, with Twins right-hander Brad Radke taking his broken shoulder socket to the mound for possibly the final time of his 12-year career. Dan Haren, in his first post-season start, will pitch for Oakland.

Bonser, a rookie, struck out three in six innings, giving up two runs and seven hits. Sidearmer Pat Neshek, who took the loss, started the seventh before yielding to Reyes.

The A's _ who got an RBI double from Marco Scutaro for the second day in a row _ tacked one more on in the ninth when Nick Swisher doubled against Juan Rincon and scored on Joe Nathan's wild pitch.

Huston Street worked the ninth for his second save in as many days after blowing 11 chances during the regular season. He gave up a single to Jason Bartlett and a walk to Luis Castillo, but retired Nick Punto on a popup on a 3-2 pitch with AL batting champion Joe Mauer on deck.

Minnesota won championships in 1987 and 1991 without winning a single road game in either of those World Series, and the Metrodome is frequently mentioned as the loudest stadium in the major leagues. Plus, there's the deteriorating, dust-coloured ceiling that makes fly balls difficult to see for outfielders and the artificial turf that sometimes makes grounders take funny hops.

But the advantage for the Twins seems outdated now. They've lost seven straight at home in the post-season, with their last win coming in Game 1 of the 2002 AL Championship Series against the Angels.

Bonser, who arrived from the Giants with Nathan and all-star Francisco Liriano in the lopsided trade for catcher A.J. Pierzynski, settled in as a reliable member of the rotation when his third stint in the majors began in mid-August. The Twins were impressed by his aggressiveness, and his anger when prospect Matt Garza was promoted ahead of him following the first revelation of Liriano's injury.

Bonser attacked the strike zone just like he was supposed to, being careful with Frank Thomas on a second-inning walk for his only four-ball count of the afternoon. A ground-rule double by Thomas, 4-for-7 in the series, didn't lead to anything in the fourth, and it wasn't until the fifth that Bonser had trouble.

Swisher started with a double, and Scutaro drove him in with a two-base hit to the exact same spot _ in the right-field corner. Kendall's one-out RBI single gave the A's a 2-0 lead, just like the one Barry Zito had by the second inning in Game 1 to beat Johan Santana.

Loaiza, who had an up-and-down year marked by a trip to the disabled list in May, a drunken-driving arrest in June and an outstanding August, scattered six singles over the first five innings and had flawless infield defence behind him from Swisher at first base and Eric Chavez at third. Loaiza was looking strong until he left a 3-2 pitch over the plate for Cuddyer to crush into the left-field seats.

Morneau came next, sending a 1-2 delivery soaring into the upper deck. Suddenly, the game was tied and Loaiza was leaving the mound, replaced by Kiko Calero _ who got three outs and got the win.

Notes: Including the 2003 division series against the Red Sox, Chavez is in a 1-for-30 slump in the playoffs. ... Cuddyer's post-season hitting streak is at seven games, dating back to the 2003 division series against the Yankees. In 12 career first-round games, he's batting .400 (16-for-40) with five RBIs. ... Ray Durham hit Oakland's last playoff inside-the-park homer, against Minnesota's Rick Reed exactly four years ago in Game 3 of the division series here. ... The A's won their first two games in New York in 2001, then lost three in a row.