MINNEAPOLIS _ After a spirit-busting sweep by the Yankees in New York, the Twins returned to Target Field on Friday looking to turn things around against the Cincinnati Reds.
Logan Morrison was among a group of players who took part in extra batting practice early in the afternoon, seeking solutions to his .113 start to the season.
Right-hander Phil Hughes headed to the mound attempting to go longer than the 31/3 innings he lasted Sunday against Tampa Bay.
And Twins manager Paul Molitor just hoped a change of venue would help stop a seven-game losing streak.
"You try to find something you can build on," Molitor said before the game. "You are back home. We have had five games in this building so far and have been out of Florida for over a month."
Molitor soon found out that bad pitching can travel.
Hughes had trouble finding the plate with many of his pitches. And when he did, he was hit hard. Tyler Duffey followed him to the mound and was battered as well.
The Twins scored eight runs over the first four innings, and it looked as if they would need to score eight more to pull out a win. Cincinnati kept smacking Twins pitching around Target Field until they won, 15-9, in a four-hour clunker. The Twins made five mound visits and used seven pitchers in the game.
Hughes gave up a first-pitch home run to Jose Peraza in the first inning that opened the scoring. Opponents entered the game batting .370 off Hughes in his Twins career when they swing at the first pitch.
The Twins countered with five runs in the bottom of the inning. The big blow came when Morrison finished off a nine-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer to right-center.
So the Twins led the 5-20 Reds by four runs. Cincinnati scored twice in the third to close to 5-3, but the Twins answered with two of their own to restore the lead.
The Reds scored a run in the fourth, but the Twins answered in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own.
So the Twins led the Reds 8-4 through four innings. It was set up for Hughes to cruise, but he lasted just 32/3 innings before Jesse Winker ended his night with an RBI single. Duffey, however, didn't fare any better.
Joey Votto led off the fifth with a solo homer. Scott Schebler hit a two-run single to make it 8-7. Adam Duvall reached when Duffey picked up his tapper and threw it away.
Duffey was replaced by Ryan Pressly, who entered with 13 scoreless innings on the season. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Tucker Barnhart and an RBI triple to Billy Hamilton as the Reds took an 9-8 lead. Pressly then threw a wild pitch to Winker, allowing Hamilton to score the sixth run of the inning for the Reds as boos spilled out of the stands. The Twins needed Taylor Rogers to get out of the inning without any more damage suffered.
It's the last thing Molitor needed. He's been looking for a starter to pitch deep into a game and take the pressure off of a beleaguered bullpen. Not only did Hughes fail to do that, he needed Duffey, Pressly and Rogers to get the next four outs.
