OAKLAND -- Kenny Rogers said the ball couldn't be caught. He forgot to tell Torii Hunter.
"I don't know of any other player who could have caught that ball," Rogers said of a second-inning catch Hunter made that robbed Mark Ellis of extra bases. "That ball was going away from him and he ran it down. When the ball was on its way down I thought there's no way he'd catch it. How he closed the gap I don't know."
The catch became the rallying point of the Minnesota Twins' come-from-behind victory over the Athletics on Wednesday, and it was just one of several contributions Hunter made in the Twins' 4-3 win in front of 27,189 fans.
Hunter also threw a runner out at the plate in the first inning, and hit a two-run homer in the fourth that got the Twins back into the game.
"That's how you lift things up," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He's a big performer and he throws his body around."
Dustan Mohr singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning against submarine pitcher Chad Bradford.
"I was just trying to hit the ball to the right side," said Mohr. "I don't like facing guys who throw like that. If anything I wanted to inside-out it, and it worked out."
Rogers avoided losing his first game in Oakland in nearly nine years when Matthew LeCroy singled home Cristian Guzman with the tying run in the eighth against Bradford (2-3).
LaTroy Hawkins (4-0) pitched one scoreless inning to earn the victory. J.C. Romero pitched the eighth and Eddie Guardado earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth.
The victory insures the Twins remain in first place in the AL Central for at least another day.
"It was going away from me," Hunter said of his catch. "I figured it was going to be a double anyway so I might as well go for it. I went for it and caught it. When you make a play like that it can really help pump you up."
Mohr went 3-for-4 on the day, and is hitting .310 this season. He has 30 hits in his last 73 at bats.
"I'm not going to say I knew he would catch it, but I knew he had a chance," said Mohr. "I've learned to stay out of his way. He's going after it and I'm going to let him do his thing."
Mohr was involved in his own strange defensive play in the ninth when a fan reached over the railing near the Twins bullpen to snatch a ball hit by Ellis away from Mohr. Ellis was called out on fan interference.
"That was a crazy play," Mohr said. "I've never had anything like that happen. I was watching the ball go into my glove and the next thing I get smashed in the head. I looked up and saw he was wearing a Raiders shirt. I thought he found out I was a Broncos' fan and tried to tackle me."
Guzman led off the eighth with a single and was able to gain second when A's first baseman Scott Hatteberg had trouble keeping his feet on Corey Koskie's sharp grounder. Instead of a possible double play, Hatteberg took the out at first. LeCroy followed with his single.
Hunter's groundout sent pinch runner Luis Rivas to second, setting up Mohr's game-winning hit.
Rogers has won 17 consecutive decisions in Oakland dating to Aug. 7, 1994 when he was a member of the Texas Rangers. He pitched for the A's from 1998-99, compiling a 15-0 home record in 26 starts. He's 19-3 lifetime in Oakland.
"Some of it is a little luck," said Rogers. "I wasn't nearly as comfortable as I wanted to be. These guys came back to get the runs we needed."
Rogers, who has three consecutive no-decisions and hasn't lost since April 22, allowed just three runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
A's starter Barry Zito has also experienced some success in Oakland. He's 2-2 in five home starts this season after going 11-1 in 17 starts at home last year.
After the A's scored their go-ahead run, Rogers retired seven of the final eight batters he faced to keep the game within reach.
Zito allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings. He walked three and struck out one.
Hunter continued to put his early-season slump behind him and hit safely in his third straight game, and 19 of his last 26.
Hunter hit his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot on a 2-1 pitch from Zito, to tie the game at 2-2. His previous two homers also came in the fourth inning. LeCroy singled ahead of Hunter.
The A's scored single runs in the first and third to take a 2-0 advantage. Erubiel Durazo singled home Hatteberg in the first and Eric Chavez singled home Eric Byrnes in the third.
Oakland took the lead when Ellis singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.