MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Albert Pujols got the Los Angeles Angels started with a mighty blast in the first inning.
From there on out, the Angels flailed away and were swept right out of Target Field.
Pujols hit his 562nd career home run, but the Angels went hitless for the final eight innings of a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
Oswaldo Arcia's opposite field single scored Byron Buxton in the 12th inning to give the Twins their third straight win after starting the season 0-9.
"We're trying to stay aggressive as much as we can," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We haven't been able to open some things up.
"It's going to start not with just one guy. There are some guys here that need to get into their game, and once it does, I think this lineup, the way this lineup is stacked, I think it makes a lot of sense."
Nick Tropeano gave up one run on five hits and struck out three in 5 2-3 innings, but the Angels managed just four hits in the game. They went 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts in the final four innings.
Kyle Gibson gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings for the Twins, who have won three straight after starting the season 0-9. Michael Tonkin (1-0) struck out four in two innings for his first win.
"The hits just aren't coming," Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella said. That's the way baseball is. There's a lot of ups and downs, you got to weather the storm and have confidence in who you are as a player."
They came for the Twins, who got 13 hits and were on the bases all day against Angels pitching. But they had a hard time cashing in until the 12th when the Angels played Arcia to pull. The left-handed hitter beat the shift for the third time in two days and Buxton scored easily from second.
"To endure the first stretch and respond this way is a good sign," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Cory Rasmus (0-1) got one out.
Pujols hit a two-run shot into the second deck in left field in the first inning. His second homer of the season, and of the series, moved him within one of tying Reggie Jackson for 13th on baseball's career list.
The Twins came back to tie it with a double from Plouffe in the fourth and a groundout from Oswaldo Arcia in the eighth, and the Angels struck out 11 times and only had two batters reach base after the fourth inning.
"Once we get rolling and start putting some hits together as a team, getting some big knocks, things start going our way, that's when it gets fun and things start going," Kole Calhoun said. "When you're not getting knocks, it's tough. But you've got to stick with it."
BIG THROW
Rafael Ortega made the defensive play of the game in the seventh inning on a perfect throw from left field. After Mauer singled, Ortega's throw from left field got the speedy Eduardo Nunez at home that kept the Angels ahead 2-1.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: Manager Mike Scioscia said LHP Andrew Heaney (left elbow) is making progress, but there remains no timetable for his return to throwing. "He's got a ways to go," he said. "It's a controlled progression, so he's got a little ways to go before he's on the mound."
Twins: 3B Trevor Plouffe, who had three hits and an RBI, had to leave the game in the 11th inning with a right intercostal strain in his ribcage. He said he will try to rest for a day to two before they make a decision on a disabled list stint.
UP NEXT
Angels: LHP Hector Santiago (0-0, 3.00) will face the team that drafted him in the 30th round when the Angels open a series in Chicago against LHP Carlos Rodon (1-1, 1.38) and the White Sox.
Twins: RHP Phil Hughes (0-2, 4.38) will try for his first win of the season when he faces RHP Chase Anderson (1-0, 0.00) in the series opener against Milwaukee.
