GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: MINNESOTA (28-25) at OAKLAND (26-27)

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARLOS SILVA
OAK - JOE BLANTON

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L CASTILLO (.339, 2-FOR-3)
J CIRILLO (.221, 0-FOR-3)
M CUDDYER (.298, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS OAKLAND (1) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .339
J Cirillo dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .221
M Cuddyer rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .298
J Morneau 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .288
T Hunter cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .312
M Redmond c 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .316
J Kubel lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234
N Punto 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .233
J Bartlett ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .238

Totals 27 0 3 0 0 5 6

BATTING: Team LOB - 3.

FIELDING: DP: 3 (M Redmond-J Bartlett, J Bartlett-J Morneau, L Castillo-J
Morneau).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Buck lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
S Stewart lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .274
N Swisher 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .300
M Bradley rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .306
J Cust rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233
D Johnson dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .300
E Chavez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
B Crosby ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
M Kotsay cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
M Ellis 2b 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .242
J Kendall c 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 .194

Totals 26 1 5 0 1 2 5

BATTING: 2B - M Ellis (8, C Silva). GIDP - S Stewart, D Johnson. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - N Swisher (1, 2nd base by C Silva/M Redmond).


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 000 00 -- 0
OAKLAND - 000 001 00 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 8 5 1 1 1 2 0 3.86

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Blanton 8 3 0 0 0 5 0 3.86

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 101-64; J Blanton 96-68. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Silva 16-5; J Blanton 12-7. Batters faced: C Silva 27; J Blanton 27.

UMPIRES: HP--Marvin Hudson. 1B--Mike Muchlinski. 2B--Ed Montague. 3B--Bill
Miller.

Weather: 59 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 17 mph, out to right.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: M Scutaro in right field.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 0
OAKLAND 1 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L Castillo (.339, 2-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 x 1 5 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - CARLOS SILVA AND MIKE REDMOND

OAK - JOE BLANTON AND JASON KENDALL

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

OAK - NONE</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 x 1 5 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - CARLOS SILVA AND MIKE REDMOND

OAK - JOE BLANTON AND JASON KENDALL


WP - JOE BLANTON (5-3)
LP - CARLOS SILVA (3-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

OAK - NONE


TIME: 1:49 ATT: 30,576

PROBABLES: MIN - JOHAN SANTANA (6-4, 3.21)
OAK - CHAD GAUDIN (5-1, 2.32)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (0) VS OAKLAND (1) - FINAL

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .337
J Cirillo dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .217
M Cuddyer rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
J Morneau 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .288
T Hunter cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .312
M Redmond c 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .316
J Kubel lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234
N Punto 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .233
J Bartlett ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .238

Totals 30 0 3 0 0 6 6

BATTING: Team LOB - 3.

FIELDING: DP: 3 (M Redmond-J Bartlett, J Bartlett-J Morneau, L Castillo-J
Morneau).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Buck lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
S Stewart lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .274
N Swisher 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .300
M Bradley rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .306
J Cust rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233
M Scutaro rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235
D Johnson dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .300
E Chavez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
B Crosby ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
M Kotsay cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
M Ellis 2b 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .242
J Kendall c 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 .194

Totals 26 1 5 0 1 2 5

BATTING: 2B - M Ellis (8, C Silva). GIDP - S Stewart, D Johnson. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - N Swisher (1, 2nd base by C Silva/M Redmond).


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 000 000 -- 0
OAKLAND - 000 001 00x -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva (L, 3-6) 8 5 1 1 1 2 0 3.86

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Blanton (W, 5-3) 9 3 0 0 0 6 0 3.81

Pitches-strikes: C Silva 101-64; J Blanton 108-76. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Silva 16-5; J Blanton 13-8. Batters faced: C Silva 27; J Blanton 30.

UMPIRES: HP--Marvin Hudson. 1B--Mike Muchlinski. 2B--Ed Montague. 3B--Bill
Miller.

T--1:49. Att--30,576.
Weather: 59 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 17 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
MINNESOTA 0
OAKLAND 1 FINAL</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (0) AT OAKLAND (1) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OAKLAND 6TH: M Ellis doubled to deep left center. J Kendall singled to
right, M Ellis to third. S Stewart grounded into double play, shortstop to
first, M Ellis scored, J Kendall out at second. N Swisher grounded out to
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (0) AT OAKLAND (1) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- L Castillo 2B, J Cirillo DH, M Cuddyer RF,
J Morneau 1B, T Hunter CF, M Redmond C, J Kubel LF, N Punto 3B, J Bartlett SS,
C Silva RHP.

Oakland Starting Lineups -- T Buck LF, N Swisher 1B, M Bradley RF, D Johnson DH,
E Chavez 3B, B Crosby SS, M Kotsay CF, M Ellis 2B, J Kendall C, J Blanton RHP.

Umpires -- Marvin Hudson (HP), Mike Muchlinski (1B), Ed Montague (2B),
Bill Miller (3B).

Gametime Weather: 59 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to right at 17 mph.


MINNESOTA 1ST: L Castillo reached on infield single to shortstop.
J Cirillo flied out to right. M Cuddyer flied out to right. J Morneau grounded
out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Buck grounded out to shortstop. N Swisher walked.
M Bradley struck out swinging. N Swisher caught stealing second, catcher to
shortstop.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: S Stewart in left field. T Hunter grounded out to third.
M Redmond grounded out to first. J Kubel grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: D Johnson grounded out to first. E Chavez grounded out to
shortstop. B Crosby grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

MINNESOTA 3RD: N Punto flied out to left. J Bartlett grounded out to
shortstop. L Castillo singled to center. J Cirillo grounded into fielder's
choice to third, L Castillo out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: M Kotsay flied out to center. M Ellis grounded out to
shortstop. J Kendall singled to center. S Stewart struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

MINNESOTA 4TH: M Cuddyer grounded out to shortstop. J Morneau grounded out
to second. T Hunter lined out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 4TH: N Swisher grounded out to first. M Bradley flied out to
center. D Johnson grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 0.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Cust in right field. M Redmond grounded out to first.
J Kubel flied out to left. N Punto grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 5TH: E Chavez flied out to center. B Crosby grounded out to
shortstop. M Kotsay popped out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 0.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Bartlett struck out looking. L Castillo grounded out to
shortstop. J Cirillo flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 6TH: M Ellis doubled to deep left center. J Kendall singled to
right, M Ellis to third. S Stewart grounded into double play, shortstop to
first, M Ellis scored, J Kendall out at second. N Swisher grounded out to
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.

MINNESOTA 7TH: M Cuddyer struck out swinging. J Morneau singled to right.
T Hunter struck out swinging. M Redmond struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 7TH: J Cust singled to left. D Johnson grounded into double play,
second to first, J Cust out at second. E Chavez flied out to center. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.

MINNESOTA 8TH: J Kubel grounded out to first. N Punto struck out looking.
J Bartlett lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 8TH: B Crosby grounded out to catcher. M Kotsay grounded out to
shortstop. M Ellis singled to center. J Kendall grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.

MINNESOTA 9TH: M Scutaro in right field. L Castillo grounded out to third.
J Cirillo struck out looking. M Cuddyer flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, OAKLAND 1.</div>

 

Blanton ends Twins winning streak

<h3>OAKLAND 1, MINNESOTA 0</h3>OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Joe Blanton obviously has ashort memory.

The righthander tossed his second career shutout and the hustleof Mark Ellis led to the only run of the game as the Athleticstopped the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, on Saturday.

The performance was a stark contrast from Blanton's last outingon Sunday, when he surrendered a career high-tying three homersand season-high eight runs in an 8-4 loss to the BaltimoreOrioles.

En route to the fifth complete game of his career, Blanton (5-3)allowed three hits and did not walk a batter while striking outsix as the Athletics ended the Twins season-high five gamewinning streak.

He retired 11 consecutive batters between the third and seventhinnings before allowing a one-out single to Justin Morneau.Blanton, who threw 108 pitches, then retired the last eightbatters he faced.

Blanton's effort overshadowed an impressive game by Twinsstarter Carlos Silva (3-6), who allowed one run, five hits and awalk while striking out two in eight innings.

It was the speed of Ellis that allowed the Athletics to breakthe scoreless tie. He led off the sixth inning with a liner tothe left-center field gap and stretched the hit into a double,narrowly beating the throw into second base.

Ellis advanced to third base on a single by Jason Kendall andscored when Shannon Stewart grounded into a double play.

Oakland lost a pair of outfielders in the game - rookie TravisBuck left the game after one inning with a stomach ailment andMilton Bradley left the game in the fifth inning with a strainedcalf.

 

Blanton ends Twins winning streak

<h3>OAKLAND 1, MINNESOTA 0</h3>OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Joe Blanton obviously has ashort memory.

The righthander tossed his second career shutout and the hustleof Mark Ellis led to the only run of the game as the Athleticstopped the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, on Saturday.

The performance was a stark contrast from Blanton's last outingon Sunday, when he surrendered a career high-tying three homersand season-high eight runs in an 8-4 loss to the BaltimoreOrioles.

"I worked ahead in the count a lot more tonight," said Blanton,comparing this start to Sunday's. "That was the difference. Itried to pitch to my strengths instead of their weakness. I wasable to pound the ball down in the zone as well. Maybe Ididn't throw as many strikes tonight, but the quality of strikeswere much better."

En route to the fifth complete game of his career, Blanton (5-3)allowed three hits and did not walk a batter while striking outsix as the Athletics ended the Twins season-high five gamewinning streak.

"I've had a couple of other good ones like this," Blanton said."Maybe didn't go a complete game, but they were up there withthis one. This one is definitely up there at the top of thelist as far as working quick and getting a lot of ground ballsthough."

Blanton retired 11 consecutive batters between the third andseventh innings before allowing a one-out single to JustinMorneau. He then retired the last eight batters he faced,finishing with 108 pitches

"You don't see that very often," Athletics manager Bob Gerensaid. "Right around a 100-pitch complete game, Joe Blanton wasoutstanding. He had all of his pitches working and hadpin-point control. That's a pretty good lineup over there andto go through them like he did was pretty impressive. It was abig day for him."

"(Blanton) had all his stuff working," Athletics catcher JasonKendall said. "The mistakes he did make were still on thecorners so he was able to get some popups and ground balls andlet his defense do the work."

Blanton's effort overshadowed an impressive game by Twinsstarter Carlos Silva (3-6), who allowed one run, five hits and awalk while striking out two in eight innings.

<div class="pre">"I still feel great," Silva said. "Everything we worked on in</div>the bullpen worked tonight. We lost the game, but I still feelgood because I know that we are going to win a lot of thesegames. We are playing well and I feel like part of the teamnow. Last season I was in the bullpen and couldn't pitch like Idid tonight."

"It was a well-pitched game to say the least," Twins manager RonGardenhire said. "Both pitchers were pretty much dominating thegame. Blanton was really, really good, and Carlos was equallyas good. Obviously they came up with a run and we couldn't getone. It was a shame that we couldn't get a run for Carlosbecause he pitched great."

It was the speed of Ellis that allowed the Athletics to breakthe scoreless tie. He led off the sixth inning with a liner tothe left-center field gap and stretched the hit into a double,narrowly beating the throw into second base.

Ellis advanced to third base on a single by Jason Kendall andscored when Shannon Stewart grounded into a double play.

"Mark is such a smart player," Geren said. "He has greatbaseball instincts. Everything on that play was textbook. Heran hard out of the box, made a good turn and good decision togo to second. He was going hard all the way and that ended upbeing the difference."

Oakland lost a pair of outfielders in the game - rookie TravisBuck left the game after one inning with a stomach ailment andMilton Bradley left the game in the fifth inning with a strainedcalf.