miaowang123: sat out for the first time since Jan. 2. ...

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Staring down the wrong end of history, the Minnesota Twins would much rather have seen a pitcher other than Jered Weaver, who no-hit them in 2012 and dominated them most recently on July 24. Justin Reid Jersey . Yet the Twins did just enough against their nemesis to beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 on Monday night, ending a 10-game home losing streak and avoiding the worst such skid since the franchise started in Washington in 1901. "We all know weve lost a few ballgames in a row here at home," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The people that showed up here were rooting pretty hard, and our guys were playing pretty hard, too. Big win." Only 21,826 were officially registered as paying customers, the smallest crowd since Target Field opened for the 2010 season. Fewer than that actually showed up on a hot, humid night, but they saw Trevor Plouffe go 2 for 3 and drive in the tying and go-ahead runs, and rookie Josmil Pinto hit three doubles. Casey Fien (4-2) struck out two in a scoreless seventh for the victory, and Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his 33rd save in 37 chances. Plouffes two-run, two-out double in the fifth inning off Weaver tied the game 3-3, and his bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Cory Rasmus (0-1) in the seventh made it 4-3. Plouffe, hitting .329 in 21 games since Aug. 18, had a 2-2 count when he dumped a line drive into short centre field to score Pinto and Ryan Doumit in the fifth. He entered the game hitting .182 (2 for 11) in 14 plate appearances against Weaver. "Youve got a good pitcher on the hill there thats really had our number," Plouffe said. "He got two strikes on me, then its just battle mode. Hes got that good cutter and changes speeds on it. I was kind of looking for that, trying to lay off the pitch he rides up and in on me. I was able to get enough bat on the ball to get it out there." "I made a pretty good pitch to Plouffe there, and he kind of stuck out his bat and hit it up the middle," Weaver said. "Sometimes youre going to get guys out and sometimes youre not." Plouffe added a sacrifice fly to medium right field in the seventh. Kole Calhoun made a nice throw home, but Brian Dozier slipped his hand under the tag of catcher Chris Iannetta. Playing a makeup game for an April 17 rainout, the Angels continue their longest trip of the season -- nine games -- on Tuesday in Toronto. They also play three-game series at Houston and Oakland. Weaver made his fourth straight quality start for the Angels, allowing three earned runs, nine hits and two walks in six innings. In their last meeting, the Twins managed just two hits over eight innings in a 1-0 loss on July 24, and then there was the no-hitter on May 2, 2012. The right-hander entered Mondays game with an 8-2 record and 3.28 ERA in 14 career starts against Minnesota. "I started to tighten up there in the third or fourth and got through the sixth, and (manager Mike) Scioscia didnt want to push me anymore, which is understandable," Weaver said. "Its nothing concerning, just the hot-and-humid air and losing a lot of fluids and stuff. It just started to tighten up a little bit, but its not a concern." Rasmus (0-1) loaded the bases in the seventh on a walk, a fielders choice and a single before Plouffes sacrifice fly. Pedro Florimon drew a bases-loaded walk off Buddy Boshers to drive in another run, and Doumit capped it with an RBI single in the eighth. On the way to a third straight 90-loss season, the Twins werent eager to set another futility record. They already have broken the teams season record for strikeouts (1,222 and counting), so avoiding a 114-year record for a home losing streak has to be a relief. "I knew we hadnt been playing well, and its a concern for us, obviously," Plouffe said. "We want to win as many games as possible, even if were out of (playoff contention). Its just who we are as a team; were not just going to lie down." NOTES: After the game, the Angels optioned INF Tommy Field to Triple-A Salt Lake, which starts a playoff series against Omaha on Tuesday. ... Angels 2B Howie Kendrick, out since Aug. 6 because of a hyperextended left knee, could be available as soon as Tuesday in Toronto, Scioscia said. Kendrick was injured after colliding with a teammate while chasing a pop fly. ... The Angels recalled C John Hester before Tuesday nights game. ... With his RBI double in the fourth, has an RBI in 12 of his past 13 games. ... The Twins will use a six-man rotation for the final month of the season, Gardenhire said. They added September callup LHP Scott Diamond to the rotation. ... The Twins added Diamond, INF Eduardo Escobar, OF/1B Chris Parmelee, RHP Shairon Martis and C Eric Fryer to the expanded roster after Rochester lost its International League playoff series on Sunday. To make room on the roster, the Twins placed RHP Samuel Deduno (shoulder) and OF Wilkin Ramirez (broken leg). ... Twins C Joe Mauer, on the DL because of a concussion suffered Aug. 19, took batting practice. Texans Jerseys . New York City FC introduced Frank Lampard in Brooklyn on Thursday after signing the 36-year-old former Chelsea midfielder to a two-year contract. Sammie Coates Jersey .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury. TAMPA, Fla. -- The Dallas Stars are playing like a team desperate to reach the post-season for the first time in six years. The Tampa Bay Lightning, however, have lost back-to-back home games since clinching their second playoff berth in seven seasons. Jamie Benn had two goals and an assist Saturday night at Tampa Bay in a 5-2 victory that lifted Dallas past Phoenix into the second wild-card position in the Western Conference. "We have a lot of games in a few days and we need to get as many points as we can in this stretch," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "This was very important." Tyler Seguin had his team-leading 35th goal and an assist, and Vernon Fiddler and Antoine Roussel also scored for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen stopped 27 shots. Steven Stamkos and Andrej Sustr scored for the Lightning, and Ben Bishop finished with 23 saves. Benn produced all of his points in the first period. He opened the scoring 40 seconds in, redirecting a shot by Alex Goligoski from along the right boards into the left side of the net. "The first shift of the game can mean a lot," Benn said. "You want to set the tempo right away and we got a quick goal." Benn struck again at the 5:37 mark, snapping a shot past Bishop from the right circle. Two minutes later, Lightning defenceman Radko Gudas was dealt a match penalty for an illegal check to Roussels head. Dallas failed to capitalize on the five-minute major, but Benn and his brother Jordie set up Seguin late in the period to make it 3-0. Tampa Bay responded with a pair of goals early in the second period. Aaron Colvin Jersey. Stamkos scored two minutes in, and Sustr lifted a rebound past Lehtonen at 6:44 for his first NHL goal. Fiddler and Roussel beat Bishop with backhanders in the third to secure the victory. "We wanted to keep the pressure on them and came up in the third period strong," Roussel said. "We needed to get the killer goal and take the life out of them." Bishop said the Lightning cannot afford to work hard for only 20 minutes. "Weve got to show up to play, and weve got something to play for," he said. "Its not like we just made the playoffs and now we can relax. We still want to get home ice, and we dont want to be in the wild card." Tampa Bay is four points behind second-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division and five ahead of Eastern Conference wild-card leader Detroit. "Hopefully this is out of our system and we can come down from our high chair after making the playoffs and realize that there are other teams that are coming and can catch us," Stamkos said. NOTES: Sustr was recalled from the AHL on Friday. ... Tampa Bay D Mike Kostka missed his second game with a concussion that resulted in a three-game league suspension for Montreal D Douglas Murray. ... Dallas LW Erik Cole (upper body) returned after being sidelined seven games. Stars LW Ray Whitney (lower body) sat out for the first time since Jan. 2. ... During a pregame ceremony on the plaza, the Lightning unveiled a bronze statue depicting former captain Dave Andreychuk raising the 2004 Stanley Cup. Cheap Saints Hoodies Cheap Lions Hoodies Cheap Eagles Hoodies Cheap Raiders Hoodies Cheap Vikings Hoodies Cheap Dolphins Hoodies Cheap Bears Hoodies Cheap 49ers Hoodies Cheap Giants Hoodies Cheap Seahawks Hoodies Cheap Broncos Hoodies Cheap Packers Hoodies Cheap Patriots Hoodies Cheap Cowboys HoodiesCheap Steelers Hoodies Cheap Redskins Hoodies ' ' '