OAKLAND, CALIF. — Twins rookie Anthony Swarzak couldn’t explain what happened in the fourth inning Monday, when his control deserted him, when he drilled a batter in the head, and when he let a three-run lead vanish into the cool, evening air.

“I really haven’t figured it out yet,” Swarzak said after the 4-3 loss to Oakland. “I’ve got to go back and look at some video and see what happened. I know, this game’s crazy sometimes. I felt real good at the beginning of the game, and the team throws up some runs for me, and I thought, ‘Alright, we’ve got a pretty good chance to get a win today.’”

Did the new three-run lead make him press even more?

“I wouldn’t necessarily say I was pressing the first eight pitches,” he said. “Maybe at the end of the inning, I might have been pressing a little bit. The first eight pitches were balls that weren’t even close. I can’t tell you what it is. I don’t know what it is.”

And then there was that pitch to Aaron Cunningham, a 91-mph fastball right into the helmet. Cunningham was diagnosed with a concussion and taken to a hospital for a CT-Scan. (No further updates were available.)

“I hope he’s alright,” Swarzak said. “That’s one of those situations — it just got away. I was trying so hard to throw a strike, and for something like that to happen, it stinks.”

Then, a happy fellow with a microphone asked Swarzak if he can build off this start, based on his early-inning success.

“Yeah, I think there’s definitely something to build on from those first three innings,” Swarzak said. “I punched out a couple guys. I was hitting my spots. My breaking ball was a little tighter than it’s been in the past. Other than that, I think I’d be reaching a little bit to tell you I’m going to build on that, so we’ll see what happens.”

There was another question about watching video. Swarzak answered it graciously, but his frustration with himself was clear.

“Obviously I’ve gotta work on something,” he said. “I mean, that ain’t going to cut it.”

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