Scattering six hits in a route-going performance, Mike Norris pitched the A's to a 5-1 opening day triumph over the the Twins. The A's tallied twice in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Tony Armas and run-scoring double by Jeff Newman. Mike Heath cracked a leadoff homer in the eighth and Armas drilled a bases-empty clout in the ninth. The crowd of 42,658 was an opening day record for Metropolitan Stadium. [The Sporting News]

Oakland Athletics 5, Minnesota Twins 1

Game Played on Thursday, April 9, 1981 (Day game) at Metropolitan Stadium

A's 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 - 5 9 0 Twins 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 1 A's AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Twins AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Henderson lf 3 0 0 0 2 1 .000 Powell rf 4 0 1 1 1 1 .250 Murphy cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Wilfong 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Johnson dh 4 1 1 0 1 1 .250 Castino 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Armas rf 5 3 3 2 0 0 .600 Smalley ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Heath c 3 1 1 1 1 0 .333 Adams dh 3 0 0 0 1 1 .000 Newman 1b 4 0 1 1 1 0 .250 Ward lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Babitt 2b 4 0 1 1 1 0 .250 Hatcher 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .500 McKay 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Johnston cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .250 Picciolo ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .333 Smith c 2 0 1 0 0 0 .500 Norris p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Goodwin ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Butera c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Sofield ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Koosman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Cooper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 O'Connor p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 34 5 9 5 7 3 Totals 33 1 6 1 4 3 Time of Game: 2:46 Attendance: 42,658 Left on Base: A's 11, Twins 9 DP: A's 0, Twins 0 Errors: Koosman Doubles: Newman (1) Home Runs: Heath (1), Armas (1) Stolen Bases: Babitt (1) Sacrifice Hits: Murphy (1), Heath (1) A's IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Norris W(1-0) 9 6 1 1 4 3 0 37 1.00 Totals 9 6 1 1 4 3 0 37 Twins IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Koosman L(0-1) 7.1 8 4 4 4 3 1 34 4.91 Cooper 0.1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0.00 O'Connor 1.1 1 1 1 1 0 1 6 6.75 Totals 9 9 5 5 7 3 2 43 Wild Pitches: Norris 2 (2) Umpires: HP - Don Denkinger, 1B - Jim McKean, 2B - Rich Garcia, 3B - Greg Kosc ATHLETICS 1ST: Henderson struck out; Murphy grounded out (shortstop to first); Johnson was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. TWINS 1ST: Powell grounded out (shortstop to first); Wilfong walked; Castino forced Wilfong (pitcher to shortstop); Smalley forced Castino (shortstop unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. ATHLETICS 2ND: Armas flied to center; Heath grounded out (pitcher to first); Newman grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. TWINS 2ND: Adams was called out on strikes; Ward flied to right; Hatcher grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. ATHLETICS 3RD: Babitt popped to first; Debut game for Shooty Babitt; McKay flied to right; Picciolo flied to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. TWINS 3RD: Johnston grounded out (second to first); Smith grounded out (third to first); Debut game for Ray Smith; Powell grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 0, Twins 0. ATHLETICS 4TH: Henderson grounded out (shortstop to first); Murphy grounded out (pitcher to first); Johnson singled to left; Johnson was picked off first but was safe on an error by Koosman [Johnson to second]; Armas singled to left [Johnson scored]; Heath walked [Armas to second]; Newman doubled to left [Armas scored, Heath to third]; Babitt grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R, 3 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Athletics 2, Twins 0. TWINS 4TH: Wilfong flied to center; Castino flied to center; Smalley walked; Norris threw a wild pitch [Smalley to second]; Adams grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Athletics 2, Twins 0. ATHLETICS 5TH: McKay grounded out (shortstop to first); Picciolo singled to third; Henderson walked [Picciolo to second]; Murphy out on a sacrifice bunt (third to first) [Picciolo to third, Henderson to second]; Johnson flied to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Athletics 2, Twins 0. TWINS 5TH: Ward grounded out (third to first); Hatcher singled to shortstop; Johnston forced Hatcher (third to second); Smith singled to center [Johnston to second]; Powell singled to right [Johnston scored, Smith to second]; Wilfong flied to right in foul territory; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Athletics 2, Twins 1. ATHLETICS 6TH: Armas singled to left; Heath out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Armas to second]; Newman lined to shortstop; Babitt singled to right [Armas scored, Babitt to second (on throw to home)]; McKay singled to shortstop [Babitt to third]; Picciolo grounded out (pitcher to first); 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Athletics 3, Twins 1. TWINS 6TH: Castino flied to center; Smalley flied to center; Adams flied to left in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 3, Twins 1. ATHLETICS 7TH: Henderson grounded out (shortstop to first); Murphy was called out on strikes; Johnson walked; Armas lined to pitcher; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Athletics 3, Twins 1. TWINS 7TH: Ward lined to left; Hatcher singled to shortstop; Johnston singled to left [Hatcher to third]; GOODWIN BATTED FOR SMITH; Goodwin reached on a fielder's choice [Hatcher out at home (pitcher to catcher), Johnston to third]; Powell walked [Goodwin to second]; Wilfong grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Athletics 3, Twins 1. ATHLETICS 8TH: BUTERA REPLACED GOODWIN (PLAYING C ); Heath homered; Newman lined to left; Babitt walked; COOPER REPLACED KOOSMAN (PITCHING); Babitt stole second; Debut game for Don Cooper; McKay flied to right; Picciolo walked; Henderson walked [Babitt to third, Picciolo to second]; O'CONNOR REPLACED COOPER (PITCHING); Murphy grounded out (first to pitcher); Debut game for Jack O'Connor; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Athletics 4, Twins 1. TWINS 8TH: Castino singled to center; Smalley flied to center; Adams walked [Castino to second]; Norris threw a wild pitch [Castino to third, Adams to second]; Ward struck out; Hatcher flied to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Athletics 4, Twins 1. ATHLETICS 9TH: Johnson grounded out (third to first); Armas homered; Heath flied to center; Newman walked; Babitt forced Newman (shortstop to second); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Athletics 5, Twins 1. TWINS 9TH: Johnston grounded out (pitcher to first); SOFIELD BATTED FOR BUTERA; Sofield flied to center; Powell struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Athletics 5, Twins 1.

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