truebluefan

Mark Kotsay can't remember showing that much emotion on a baseball field in more than a decade, since he was in college.

Jason Kendall didn't know how to react, but he was jumping up and down with Kotsay as if they were 2-year-olds.

What do you expect after a go-ahead, two-run, inside-the-park home run in Game 2 of the division series — especially for the two guys who are savoring every moment of their first postseason?

Kotsay's stunning homer in the seventh inning, after five-time Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter couldn't catch the liner or keep it in front of him, was the difference in the A's 5-2 win over the Twins to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.

Kotsay leaped off the plate and pumped his fist into the air after sliding in safely.

"Around first, my thought was stay loose and run," Kotsay said. "I hit third, and (Ron Washington) was waving me. Everything went out the window. Arms and jersey were flying. Sliding across home plate, I think that's the most emotion I've showed in a game in probably 11-12 years. It's a big game, and it felt good to help the team win."

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