Bats unable get clutch hit without Sano

OAKLAND — On paper, it’s hard to be disappointed with a 3-3 split of a tough West Coast road trip given Minnesota’s slow start to the season.

But Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Athletics that handed the Twins their ninth sweep of the season capped off a series that felt like a big missed opportunity, especially following a sweep of the first-place Mariners in which the team seemed to finally hit its stride on offense.

“You can’t really pinpoint anything as to why we got swept these last three games, but I know coming into Oakland, we felt really good about everything,” second baseman Brian Dozier said. “We still played really good defense and threw the ball all right, but we left a lot of people on base. We just didn’t get those hits we were getting in Seattle.”

The Twins left 26 runners on base in their three losses to Oakland and hit .160 (4-for-25) with runners in scoring position. Despite having their share of opportunities in all three games, Minnesota struggled to put the ball …

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