GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: OAKLAND (44-44) at MINNESOTA (45-43)

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - PITCHING CHANGE
MIN: JOE NATHAN (3-1, 2.17) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: E CHAVEZ (.245, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Nathan relieved D Reyes.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2
MINNESOTA 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: E Chavez (.245, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
MINNESOTA 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 x 6 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, JOE KENNEDY (5TH), KIKO CALERO (7TH), JAY
MARSHALL (8TH), ANDREW BROWN (8TH) AND JASON KENDALL

MIN - SCOTT BAKER, MATT GUERRIER (7TH), DENNYS REYES
(8TH), JOE NATHAN (9TH) AND JOE MAUER

HOME RUNS: OAK - NONE

MIN - NONE</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
MINNESOTA 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 x 6 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, JOE KENNEDY (5TH), KIKO CALERO (7TH), JAY
MARSHALL (8TH), ANDREW BROWN (8TH) AND JASON KENDALL

MIN - SCOTT BAKER, MATT GUERRIER (7TH), DENNYS REYES
(8TH), JOE NATHAN (9TH) AND JOE MAUER


WP - SCOTT BAKER (4-3)
LP - CHAD GAUDIN (8-4)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: OAK - NONE

MIN - NONE


TIME: 2:36 ATT: 25,207

PROBABLES: OAK - JOE BLANTON (8-5, 3.28)
MIN - JOHAN SANTANA (10-6, 2.75)</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">OAKLAND (2) VS MINNESOTA (6) - FINAL

OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .311
M Kotsay cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .231
N Swisher rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .264
J Cust dh 3 0 0 0 1 3 2 .262
E Chavez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .244
D Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .255
M Ellis 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
B Crosby ss 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .227
J Kendall c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .225

Totals 32 2 5 2 2 6 7

BATTING: 2B - N Swisher (21, S Baker); B Crosby (16, S Baker); S Stewart (11, S
Baker). RBI - S Stewart (27), M Kotsay (13). 2-out RBI - S Stewart, M Kotsay.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Cust 1, N Swisher 1. Team LOB - 5.


FIELDING: Outfield assists - S Stewart (J Morneau at 3rd base). PB - J
Kendall. DP: 2 (C Gaudin-J Kendall-D Johnson, S Stewart-B Crosby-M Ellis-B
Crosby).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 4 0 0 1 1 0 1 .301
J Bartlett ss 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .254
J Mauer c 2 2 0 0 2 1 1 .306
M Cuddyer rf 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 .283
J Morneau 1b 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 .296
T Hunter cf 3 0 1 2 1 2 2 .301
J Kubel lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .247
a-L Ford ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247
G Jones dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .250
N Punto 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .212

Totals 31 6 10 6 5 6 15

a-struck out swinging for J Kubel in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - N Punto (11, C Gaudin); M Cuddyer (16, C Gaudin); G Jones (1, J
Marshall). 3B - M Cuddyer (4, J Kennedy). RBI - M Cuddyer (54), T Hunter 2
(71), L Castillo (14), J Bartlett (24), J Morneau (75). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Morneau 2, L Castillo 1, G Jones 2. GIDP - J Kubel. Team
LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - S Baker (1, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
OAKLAND - 000 020 000 -- 2
MINNESOTA - 220 010 10x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Gaudin (L, 8-4) 4 6 5 5 5 2 0 3.18
J Kennedy 2 1/3 2 1 1 0 2 0 4.44
K Calero 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.23
J Marshall 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.76
A Brown 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
S Baker (W, 4-3) 6 5 2 2 1 3 0 5.43
M Guerrier (H, 7) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.66
D Reyes 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.74
J Nathan 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.11

C Gaudin pitched to 2 batters in the 5th.

WP - J Kennedy. IBB - J Morneau (by C Gaudin). HBP - J Morneau (by J
Kennedy). Pitches-strikes: C Gaudin 97-52; J Kennedy 32-22; K Calero 1-1; J
Marshall 8-5; A Brown 7-5; S Baker 100-69; M Guerrier 14-9; D Reyes 14-8; J
Nathan 9-8. Ground balls-fly balls: C Gaudin 7-3; J Kennedy 3-2; K Calero 0-0;
J Marshall 0-0; A Brown 1-0; S Baker 1-14; M Guerrier 1-3; D Reyes 1-0; J
Nathan 0-1. Batters faced: C Gaudin 22; J Kennedy 10; K Calero 1; J Marshall 2;
A Brown 2; S Baker 24; M Guerrier 4; D Reyes 3; J Nathan 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Gary Cederstrom. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Tim Welke. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

T--2:36. Att--25,207.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
OAKLAND 2
MINNESOTA 6 FINAL</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OAKLAND (2) AT MINNESOTA (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MINNESOTA 1ST: L Castillo walked. J Bartlett grounded into fielder's
choice to third, L Castillo out at second. J Mauer walked, J Bartlett to
second. M Cuddyer singled to left, J Bartlett scored, J Mauer to second.
J Mauer to third, M Cuddyer to second on passed ball by J Kendall. J Morneau
intentionally walked. T Hunter walked, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer to third,
J Morneau to second. J Kubel grounded into double play, pitcher to catcher to
first, M Cuddyer out at home.(2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 2ND: G Jones singled to center. N Punto doubled to center,
G Jones to third. L Castillo grounded out to shortstop, G Jones scored, N Punto
to third. J Bartlett singled to center, N Punto scored. J Mauer struck out
swinging. M Cuddyer doubled to right, J Bartlett to third. J Morneau grounded
out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 4.

OAKLAND 5TH: M Ellis lined out to left. B Crosby doubled to deep right.
J Kendall flied out to center. B Crosby safe at third on throwing error by
pitcher S Baker. S Stewart doubled to deep right, B Crosby scored. M Kotsay
singled to center, S Stewart scored, M Kotsay to second advancing on throw.
N Swisher flied out to center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 4.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Mauer walked. M Cuddyer reached on infield single to
shortstop, J Mauer to second. J Kennedy relieved C Gaudin. J Morneau singled
to right, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer to third. T Hunter struck out looking.
J Morneau to second on wild pitch by J Kennedy. J Kubel struck out swinging.
G Jones popped out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 7TH: J Mauer grounded out to second. M Cuddyer tripled to deep
right center. J Morneau hit by pitch. K Calero relieved J Kennedy. T Hunter
singled to left, M Cuddyer scored, J Morneau tagged out at third, T Hunter out at
second attempting to advance on play.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6.</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OAKLAND (2) AT MINNESOTA (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oakland Starting Lineups -- S Stewart LF, M Kotsay CF, N Swisher RF, J Cust DH,
E Chavez 3B, D Johnson 1B, M Ellis 2B, B Crosby SS, J Kendall C, C Gaudin RHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- L Castillo 2B, J Bartlett SS, J Mauer C,
M Cuddyer RF, J Morneau 1B, T Hunter CF, J Kubel LF, G Jones DH, N Punto 3B,
S Baker RHP.

Umpires -- Gary Cederstrom (HP), Jim Reynolds (1B), Tim Welke (2B), Lance Barksdale (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart struck out swinging. M Kotsay popped out to third.
N Swisher doubled to deep right. J Cust struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: L Castillo walked. J Bartlett grounded into fielder's
choice to third, L Castillo out at second. J Mauer walked, J Bartlett to
second. M Cuddyer singled to left, J Bartlett scored, J Mauer to second.
J Mauer to third, M Cuddyer to second on passed ball by J Kendall. J Morneau
intentionally walked. T Hunter walked, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer to third,
J Morneau to second. J Kubel grounded into double play, pitcher to catcher to
first, M Cuddyer out at home.(2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 2.

OAKLAND 2ND: E Chavez lined out to right. D Johnson lined out to center.
M Ellis flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 2ND: G Jones singled to center. N Punto doubled to center,
G Jones to third. L Castillo grounded out to shortstop, G Jones scored, N Punto
to third. J Bartlett singled to center, N Punto scored. J Mauer struck out
swinging. M Cuddyer doubled to right, J Bartlett to third. J Morneau grounded
out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 4.

OAKLAND 3RD: B Crosby flied out to left. J Kendall flied out to center.
S Stewart singled to left. M Kotsay flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 4.

MINNESOTA 3RD: T Hunter struck out swinging. J Kubel grounded out to
first. G Jones lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0,
MINNESOTA 4.

OAKLAND 4TH: N Swisher fouled out to third. J Cust walked. E Chavez flied
out to center. D Johnson grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 4.

MINNESOTA 4TH: N Punto flied out to center. L Castillo grounded out to
shortstop. J Bartlett flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 0,
MINNESOTA 4.

OAKLAND 5TH: M Ellis lined out to left. B Crosby doubled to deep right.
J Kendall flied out to center. B Crosby safe at third on throwing error by
pitcher S Baker. S Stewart doubled to deep right, B Crosby scored. M Kotsay
singled to center, S Stewart scored, M Kotsay to second advancing on throw.
N Swisher flied out to center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 4.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Mauer walked. M Cuddyer reached on infield single to
shortstop, J Mauer to second. J Kennedy relieved C Gaudin. J Morneau singled
to right, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer to third. T Hunter struck out looking.
J Morneau to second on wild pitch by J Kennedy. J Kubel struck out swinging.
G Jones popped out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 5.

OAKLAND 6TH: J Cust struck out swinging. E Chavez popped out to shortstop.
D Johnson fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2,
MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 6TH: N Punto grounded out to second. L Castillo grounded out to
pitcher. J Bartlett flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2,
MINNESOTA 5.

OAKLAND 7TH: M Guerrier relieved S Baker. M Ellis popped out to second.
B Crosby lined out to left. J Kendall grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 7TH: J Mauer grounded out to second. M Cuddyer tripled to deep
right center. J Morneau hit by pitch. K Calero relieved J Kennedy. T Hunter
singled to left, M Cuddyer scored, J Morneau tagged out at third, T Hunter out at
second attempting to advance on play. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6.

OAKLAND 8TH: S Stewart flied out to left. D Reyes relieved M Guerrier.
M Kotsay grounded out to second. N Swisher walked. J Cust struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6.

MINNESOTA 8TH: J Marshall relieved K Calero. L Ford hit for J Kubel. L Ford
struck out swinging. G Jones doubled to deep right. A Brown relieved
J Marshall. N Punto struck out looking. L Castillo grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6.

OAKLAND 9TH: L Ford in left field. J Nathan relieved D Reyes. E Chavez
struck out swinging. D Johnson struck out looking. M Ellis fouled out to
first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 2, MINNESOTA 6.</div>

 

AL: OAKLAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">OAKLAND (2) VS MINNESOTA (6) - FINAL

OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .311
M Kotsay cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .231
N Swisher rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .264
J Cust dh 3 0 0 0 1 3 2 .262
E Chavez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .244
D Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .255
M Ellis 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
B Crosby ss 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .227
J Kendall c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .225

Totals 32 2 5 2 2 6 7

BATTING: 2B - N Swisher (21, S Baker); B Crosby (16, S Baker); S Stewart (11, S
Baker). RBI - S Stewart (27), M Kotsay (13). 2-out RBI - S Stewart, M Kotsay.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Cust 1, N Swisher 1. Team LOB - 5.


FIELDING: Outfield assists - S Stewart (J Morneau at 3rd base). PB - J
Kendall. DP: 2 (C Gaudin-J Kendall-D Johnson, S Stewart-B Crosby-M Ellis).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 4 0 0 1 1 0 1 .301
J Bartlett ss 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .254
J Mauer c 2 2 0 0 2 1 1 .306
M Cuddyer rf 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 .283
J Morneau 1b 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 .296
T Hunter cf 3 0 1 2 1 2 2 .301
J Kubel lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .247
a-L Ford ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247
G Jones dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .250
N Punto 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .212

Totals 31 6 10 6 5 6 15

a-struck out swinging for J Kubel in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - N Punto (11, C Gaudin); M Cuddyer (16, C Gaudin); G Jones (1, J
Marshall). 3B - M Cuddyer (4, J Kennedy). RBI - M Cuddyer (54), T Hunter 2
(71), L Castillo (14), J Bartlett (24), J Morneau (75). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Morneau 2, L Castillo 1, G Jones 2. GIDP - J Kubel. Team
LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - S Baker (1, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
OAKLAND - 000 020 000 -- 2
MINNESOTA - 220 010 10x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Gaudin (L, 8-4) 4 6 5 5 5 2 0 3.18
J Kennedy 2 1/3 2 1 1 0 2 0 4.44
K Calero 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.23
J Marshall 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.76
A Brown 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
S Baker (W, 4-3) 6 5 2 2 1 3 0 5.43
M Guerrier (H, 7) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.66
D Reyes 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.74
J Nathan 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.11

C Gaudin pitched to 2 batters in the 5th.

WP - J Kennedy. IBB - J Morneau (by C Gaudin). HBP - J Morneau (by J
Kennedy). Pitches-strikes: C Gaudin 97-52; J Kennedy 32-22; K Calero 1-1; J
Marshall 8-5; A Brown 7-5; S Baker 100-69; M Guerrier 14-9; D Reyes 14-8; J
Nathan 9-8. Ground balls-fly balls: C Gaudin 7-3; J Kennedy 3-2; K Calero 0-0;
J Marshall 0-0; A Brown 1-0; S Baker 1-14; M Guerrier 1-3; D Reyes 1-0; J
Nathan 0-1. Batters faced: C Gaudin 22; J Kennedy 10; K Calero 1; J Marshall 2;
A Brown 2; S Baker 24; M Guerrier 4; D Reyes 3; J Nathan 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Gary Cederstrom. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Tim Welke. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

T--2:36. Att--25,207.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

Baker, Cuddyer help Twins get back into win column

<h3>MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 2</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Scott Baker bounced back from a poorstart. Chad Gaudin battled wildness and ultimately paid for it.

Baker threw six solid innings and Michael Cuddyer went 4-for-4with an RBI as the Minnesota Twins took advantage of fourfirst-inning walks by Gaudin and posted a 6-2 victory over theOakland Athletics on Thursday.


Baker (4-3), who allowed a season-high seven runs and nine hitsagainst Chicago in a 20-14 slugfest win on Friday, rebounded inthis one. He yielded just two runs and five hits in sixinnings, helping the Twins snap a two-game skid and start thesecond half of the season on a good note.


Two relievers bridged the gap to closer Joe Nathan, who worked ascoreless ninth as the Twins took the opener of the four-gameseries.


Meanwhile, Cuddyer finished a home run shy of the cycle forMinnesota, which scored 32 runs in Friday's doubleheader sweepof Chicago but managed just four over its following two games.

An uncharacteristically wild Gaudin contributed to an early leadfor the Twins. Gaudin, who entered fourth in the AmericanLeague in walks allowed, issued four - one intentional - in thefirst inning as Minnesota jumped to a 2-0 advantage.

Luis Castillo drew a leadoff walk and, after a forceout, JoeMauer also walked. Cuddyer followed with an RBI single to leftand Gaudin (8-4) uncorked a wild pitch before deciding tointentionally walk reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau.

Unintentionally, Gaudin proceeded to walk Torii Hunter and forcein Minnesota's second run of the game.


In the second inning, Gaudin let the Twins hit the ball, a planthat also failed to work.


Rookie Garrett Jones led off with a single and went to third onNick Punto's double before scoring on a groundout by Castillo,making it 3-0. Jason Bartlett followed with an RBI single tocenter for a four-run bulge.


Gaudin lasted a season-low four innings, allowing five runs, sixhits and five walks. The hits and walks totals were seasonhighs for the righthander, who had his personal two-game winningstreak snapped.


Oakland, which has lost four straight, got two runs back in thefifth, when Bobby Crosby hit a one-out double and scored twobatters later on a two-base hit by Shannon Stewart. MarkKotsay plated Stewart with a single, halving the deficit.

That was as close as the Athletics got, as Morneau delivered anRBI single in the bottom of the frame and Cuddyer tripled andscored in the seventh.


Stewart had two hits for Oakland, which has been outscored,24-6, during its current skid.

 

Baker, Cuddyer help Twins get back into win column

<h3>MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 2</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Scott Baker bounced back from a poorstart. Chad Gaudin could not find the strike zone andultimately paid for it.


Baker threw six solid innings and Michael Cuddyer went 4-for-4with an RBI as the Minnesota Twins took advantage of fourfirst-inning walks by Gaudin and posted a 6-2 victory over theOakland Athletics on Thursday.


Baker (4-3), who allowed a season-high seven runs and nine hitsagainst Chicago in a 20-14 slugfest win on Friday, rebounded inthis one. He yielded just two runs and five hits in sixinnings, helping the Twins snap a two-game skid and start thesecond half of the season on a good note.


"It allows you to come right at some guys instead of trying tomake great pitches every single pitch," Baker said of the earlyrun support. "There is a little more room for error."

Two relievers bridged the gap to closer Joe Nathan, who worked ascoreless ninth as the Twins took the opener of the four-gameseries.


Meanwhile, Cuddyer finished a home run shy of the cycle forMinnesota, which scored 32 runs in Friday's doubleheader sweepof Chicago but managed just four over its following two games.

Gaudin's sudden inability to throw strikes contributed to anearly lead for the Twins. Gaudin, who entered fourth in theAmerican League in walks allowed, issued four - one intentional- in the first inning as Minnesota jumped to a 2-0 advantage.

"Not the way I wanted to start the second half," Gaudin said."They worked the count really well. A couple balls were justoff, if not close. They made me really, really throw a lot ofstrikes, and I didn't do it too often."


Luis Castillo drew a leadoff walk and, after a forceout, JoeMauer also walked. Cuddyer followed with an RBI single to leftand Gaudin (8-4) uncorked a wild pitch before deciding tointentionally walk reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau.

Unintentionally, Gaudin proceeded to walk Torii Hunter and forcein Minnesota's second run of the game.


"We were patient," Cuddyer said. "We were able to get somewalks. Torii had a great at-bat with the bases loaded. It wasnice to see guys put together great at-bats like that."

In the second inning, Gaudin let the Twins hit the ball, a planthat also failed to work.


Rookie Garrett Jones led off with a single and went to third onNick Punto's double before scoring on a groundout by Castillo,making it 3-0. Jason Bartlett followed with an RBI single tocenter for a four-run bulge.


"(Gaudin) was throwing balls away and inside. We got jammed andwe were hitting balls off the end of the bat," Hunter said."The second time around, we kind of figured him out a little bitand tried to make him work a little bit. Usually, he isn'tlike that."


Gaudin lasted a season-low four innings, allowing five runs, sixhits and five walks. The hits and walks totals were seasonhighs for the righthander, who had his personal two-game winningstreak snapped.


"He wasn't all over the place," Oakland manager Bob Geren said."(Catcher Jason Kendall) said his ball was sinking and cutting,which are usually good things. But he was just missing thestrike zone."


Oakland, which has lost four straight, got two runs back in thefifth, when Bobby Crosby hit a one-out double and scored twobatters later on a two-base hit by Shannon Stewart. Mark Kotsayplated Stewart with a single, halving the deficit.

That was as close as the Athletics got, as Morneau delivered anRBI single in the bottom of the frame and Cuddyer tripled andscored in the seventh.


A former Twin, Stewart went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streakto 15 games, the longest current run in the AL.


The Athletics have been outscored, 24-6, during their currentskid.


"Obviously, we have to get the offense going a little bit,"Geren said. "The story was really, we fell behind and didn'thave the offense to catch back up."