MINNEAPOLIS - As Joe Mauer walked back to the dugout, the bat in his hand and a sour look on his face, there were boos from the Minnesota crowd. Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Failures this year have piled up for Mauer faster than usual for the six-time All-Star, three-time American League batting champion and one-time AL MVP. "Im a heck of a lot more frustrated than they are," Mauer said that night, when asked about those jeering fans. The sound of those boos has been jarring, considering hes the hometown guy from St. Paul with the handsome looks and the hitting skills to build a .321 career batting average, the best among all active players in baseball with at least 3,000 plate appearances. Minnesotans are fiercely proud of and protective of their natives, so Mauer figured to have a lifetime pass in the popularity department here. After signing that $184 million, eight-year contract extension in 2010, though, he has become a more-frequent target of criticism from fans frustrated by the teams struggles the past several years. The 28 home runs he hit in 138 games in 2009 were a one-year wonder. Lingering lower-body injuries limited him to 82 games in 2011. This season, his on-base-plus-slugging percentage was at a career-low .704 entering the weekend series in New York. Mauer is also on pace to blow by his career-high strikeout total of 89 set last year. "I feel pretty good actually, which is even more frustrating," he said. "Im hitting a lot of balls hard and just not having much to show for it. So hopefully that turns here soon." Mauer isnt the only one sputtering with the Twins. The teams batting average with runners in scoring position fell to .214, the second-worst in the league, after losing three of four games to Texas this week. "Were putting together a lot of good at-bats but still not driving people in with runners in scoring position. Thats the main focus, getting guys on, but we cant get them in," second baseman Brian Dozier said. Mauer reluctantly gave up his job as the catcher to better protect himself from another concussion, after missing the final six weeks of last season following a foul tip that hit him in the head. The loss to the Twins of Mauers intelligence and defence behind the plate was supposed to be trumped by an increase in his availability and production at a less-taxing position. He missed five games with back spasms earlier this month, but since then he said he feels fine. The problem has been these paltry totals: nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs through Thursday. "The expectations are very high for him. People get frustrated. I just dont want Joe to get frustrated. I know he is a little bit right now, because he doesnt have the results he wants. But I dont want to put any more pressure on the guy," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I just want him to just keep being himself, keep swinging, and hell be fine." ___ Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAPScarpe Vans Scontate Online . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Vans Scarpe Scontate . -- Kole Calhoun homered and drove in three runs, Albert Pujols also went deep and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4 Friday night. http://www.vansitalia.it/ . Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Vans Outlet Italia . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Vans Scarpe Online Saldi . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. MINNEAPOLIS -- Oswaldo Arcia -- and about everyone else at Target Field -- had time to admire his three-run home run in the fourth inning that hit close to the top of the pole in right field. The young slugger made a stronger impression and an even bigger impact two at-bats later. Arcia had four RBIs, including the go-ahead single in the seventh, to push the Minnesota Twins past Milwaukee 6-4 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in the last eight meetings with the Brewers. Arcia went deep for the third time in 10 games since his recall from Triple-A to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. Through translator and teammate Eduardo Nunez, Arcia said he waited at the plate for several seconds to watch the ball soar because he knew it was close to hooking foul. "He thinks it was a home run, right away," Nunez said. Said manager Ron Gardenhire: "Pretty impressive. Hes a strong young man." After Aramis Ramirez tied the game with a three-run homer in the seventh inning against Ricky Nolasco (4-5), the Brewers brought in lights-out left-hander Will Smith to face Arcia after Josh Willingham had doubled with two outs against Rob Wooten (1-3). Arcia hung in there long enough to stroke a 2-2 slider into right field to drive in Willingham, who forced in an earlier run against starter Marco Estrada with a bases-loaded walk. Arcia, who swung and missed at the same slider one pitch earlier, took second on the throw home to get in position to score on a single by Trevor Plouffe. That was just the second earned run against Smith all season and the first in 15 games. "Against Will Smith, not many left-handers are going to hit his breaking ball," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. But Arcia did, picking up Nolasco and the Twins. Nolasco, who retired 13 straight batters until consecutive singles by Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez to start the seventh, recovered after Ramirezs wallop to finish the inning. Nolasco struck out seven without a walk while allowing six hits, another step forward from an awful first month with the Twins after signing the richest free agent contract in club history. "They made me pay. Thats what this lineup can do, quick,," Nolasco said, adding: "Im not going to take one pitch and ruin my night.dddddddddddd" Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances. Ramirez started the season strong but was slumping badly when he strained his left hamstring 22 games ago, and the first-place Brewers havent missed a beat without him, with Mark Reynolds and his 13 home runs at third base. "Thats what Im here for, to drive in runs and help the team," Ramirez said. The Brewers started this string of 15 of 18 games on the road with the lead after consecutive two-out doubles by Rickie Weeks and Reynolds in the second, but for the second straight game the Twins had success against part of what has been a sturdy rotation for the Brewers. The return of Willingham and Arcia to the heart of the order after missing a combined 74 games with wrist injuries and rehab assignments was a big boost for the Twins last week, and they gave Estrada trouble. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher gave Estrada some trouble, too, with several close calls going against the right-hander. "They just werent going our way," Estrada said. NOTES: The four-game burst between the border-state rivals finishes Thursday, with Wily Peralta (4-5, 2.73 ERA) pitching for the Brewers and Kevin Correia (2-6, 5.87 ERA) taking the mound for the Twins. Peralta is 0-4 in his last five starts, but with a 3.64 ERA. Correia lost to Mashiro Tanaka and the Yankees in New York last week while giving up just one run in six innings. Both teams will wear throwback uniforms from the 1980s, with the Twins in their powder-blue road jerseys from that era. ... Twins RHP Mike Pelfrey, put on the DL more than a month ago due to a strained groin, will have his elbow examined next week Dr. James Andrews, who performed the Tommy John ligament replacement procedure on his arm in 2012. Pelfrey has been bothered by inflammation in the joint. ... Gomezs success in the No. 4 spot, where he batted for the 12th straight game, allowed Roenicke to ease Ramirez back in at No. 5. But Roenicke said his ideal order is Gomez leading off. The Brewers have used at least four different players in each of the nine spots this season. ' ' '