Ellis, Athletics Take Series From Twins, 6-2

(Sports Network) – Mark Ellis collected three hits, including a two-run homer, and walked twice, as the Oakland Athletics beat Minnesota, 6-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Target Field.

Akinori Iwamura hit a two-run single for the Athletics, while Bobby Cramer (2-0), making his second career start, allowed two runs on five hits and issued three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Cramer, who turns 31 next month, won his major league debut Monday in Kansas City after he allowed a run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Michael Cuddyer and Jim Thome both homered for the Twins, whose magic number to clinch their second consecutive American League Central title remains at five.

Francisco Liriano (14-8) absorbed his first loss since July 9 at Detroit after being tagged for five runs and seven hits over five full frames. The Minnesota left-hander had gone 8-0 with a 2.41 ERA in his previous 11 starts.

Twins Attempt To Win Rubber Game Of Series With Oakland

(Sports Network) – Francisco Liriano tries to bring the Minnesota Twins closer to their second straight American League Central title this afternoon when they wrap up their three-game set with the Oakland Athletics at Target Field.

Liriano has been a big part of the Twins’ recent success and won his eighth consecutive decision on Tuesday in Chicago, as he held the White Sox to three runs and six hits in six innings to run his record to 14-7 on the year to go along with a 3.28 ERA.

The lefty has faced the A’s nine times (seven starts) and is 1-2 against them with a 4.22 ERA.

Minnesota continued to roll on Saturday, as Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer to lead the Twins to a 4-2 win. Michael Cuddyer had two hits and a run scored for the Twins, whose magic number to clinch the division is now five after the White Sox lost to Detroit on Saturday.

Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

The Twins continue to thrive in their building, where they are 20-4 since July 21 and an impressive 49-24 on the season.

Landon Powell hit a solo home run and Akinori Iwamura added an RBI double for Oakland, which has dropped four of six. Dallas Braden (9-13) permitted four runs on eight hits and walked four over six full frames.

“Dallas did a good job pitching today. (Valencia’s home run) changed the game,” Powell said.

Oakland, meanwhile, will pin its hopes today on lefty Bobby Cramer, who will be making his second major league start. Cramer won his big league debut on Monday in Kansas City and allowed a run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

“He looked very comfortable,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said. “He threw strikes and I was very happy about him going that deep into the game and keeping a lead.”

The Twins have had success this season when taking on the Athletics. Minnesota has won six of the eight clashes between the teams thus far in 2010 and swept a three-game set from Oakland at Target Field from August 13-15.

Valencia, Slowey Lead Twins Past Athletics

(Sports Network) – Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer, and the Minnesota Twins beat Oakland, 4-2, in the continuation of a three-game series at Target Field.

Michael Cuddyer had two hits and a scored run for the Twins, whose magic number to clinch their second consecutive American League Central title is now six.

Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

Landon Powell hit a solo home run and Akinori Iwamura added an RBI double for Oakland, which has dropped four of six. Dallas Braden (9-13) permitted four runs on eight hits and walked four over six full frames.

Slowey, Braden Take The Mound Today At Target Field

(Sports Network) – The Minnesota Twins try to move one step closer to securing their second consecutive American League Central crown this afternoon when they continue their three-game series with the Oakland Athletics at Target Field.

Minnesota now has a magic number of seven to capture the division crown and is closing in on home-field advantage for the entire AL Playoffs as well. Gardenhire’s squad trails New York by only one game for the league’s best record.

Playing at home could help the Twins overtake the Yanks in the standings. Minnesota is 19-4 at Target Field since July 21 and the club has compiled an impressive 48-24 record in Minneapolis for the season.

However, that wasn’t the case in Friday’s opener, as Jack Cust went 2-for-4 with a home run while Brett Anderson pitched into the seventh inning, helping the Athletics to a 3-1 win.

Anderson (6-6) gave up one run on four hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings, and struck out five. With Anderson taking the win, Oakland starters have now gotten the decision in the team’s last 24 games (12-12).

“We went out there and gave him a couple runs, and he didn’t let up the lead,” Cust said of Anderson. “He’s one of the best left-handers in the league, and he went out there and shut down a good lineup.”

Rajai Davis batted 2-for-3 and drove in a run for the A’s, who snapped a two- game slide. Andrew Bailey tossed a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

Nick Blackburn (9-10) took the loss after allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk in seven innings. Danny Valencia homered to provide the lone run for the AL Central-leading Twins, who had won five in a row and 11 of their last 12 overall.

Heading to the hill for the Twins today will be right-hander Kevin Slowey, who is 12-6 with a 4.24 earned run average. Slowey beat the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, as he allowed just two unearned runs in five innings. He also struck out five without walking a batter.

“I was able to make a couple pitches when I needed to, and I was fortunate to have some great plays made behind me,” Slowey said. “When they put five runs up early, you don’t have to be quite as fine.”

Slowey did not give up a hit and tossed seven scoreless innings to beat the A’s the last time he faced them and is an impressive 3-0 lifetime with a 1.38 ERA in four starts against them.

Oakland, meanwhile, will counter with left-hander Dallas Braden, who is 9-12 on the season with a 3.56 ERA. Braden lost his third straight start and fell for the fourth time in his last five outings on Sunday against Boston, which reached him for four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Braden is winless in five starts against the Twins (0-1) and has pitched to a 3.38 ERA in those meetings.

Despite Friday’s loss, the Twins have had success this season when taking on the Athletics. Minnesota has won five of the seven clashes between the teams thus far in 2010 and swept a three-game set from Oakland at Target Field from August 13-15.

Twins' Magic Number Drops To Seven Despite 3-1 Loss

(Sports Network) – Jack Cust went 2-for-4 with a home run while Brett Anderson pitched into the seventh inning, as the Athletics edged the Twins, 3-1, in the opener of a three-game series.

Anderson (6-6) gave up one run on four hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings, and struck out five. With Anderson taking the win, Oakland starters have now gotten the decision in the team’s last 24 games (12-12).

Rajai Davis batted 2-for-3 and drove in a run for the A’s, who snapped a two- game slide. Andrew Bailey tossed a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

Nick Blackburn (9-10) took the loss after allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk in seven innings. Danny Valencia homered to provide the lone run for the AL Central-leading Twins, who had won five in a row and 11 of their last 12.

Cust opened the second inning with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Davis’ sacrifice fly to put Oakland in front.

The A’s added their second run in the fifth, after Coco Crisp doubled with two away. Blackburn walked Daric Barton before Mark Ellis hit a run-scoring single to right. However, Barton was thrown out at third to end the inning, and Valencia began the bottom half with a homer.

Anderson’s 1-1 fastball on the inside part of the plate stayed up, and Valencia slugged it to left-center. It was just the sixth homer given up by Anderson in 16 starts this season.

However, Oakland got that run back when Cust began the sixth by hitting his 12th homer. He hit Blackburn’s first pitch, a fastball up and outside, the opposite way to left field.

Anderson was removed with two outs in the seventh, after he walked J.J. Hardy to put runners on first and second. Reliever Michael Wuertz entered, but surrendered a single to Jason Repko, loading the bases for pinch-hitter Joe Mauer. But Craig Breslow came in and got Mauer to fly out to end the threat.

Breslow pitched a scoreless eighth before Bailey held the Twins off the scoreboard in the ninth.

Game Notes

While the Twins lost, their magic number for clinching the division was reduced to seven after the second-place White Sox lost to Detroit on Friday…Minnesota was dealt just its 17th loss since the All-Star break…Mauer did not start to get some rest. Twins center fielder Denard Span was scratched because of a sore right shoulder. Ben Revere got his first major league start in Span’s place and went 0-for-3 with a walk…Crisp and Cliff Pennington each had two hits for the A’s.

Twins Continue Quest For Baseball's Best Record Against Athletics

(Sports Network) - An outstanding road trip has enabled the Minnesota Twins to stretch their lead atop the American League's Central Division. The likely postseason participants now return to Target Field, where they've been sensational in recent weeks, to begin a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics tonight.

After dropping the opener of a six-game trek last Friday, the Twins responded by winning the next five tests to continue their second-half success. After closing out the trip with three consecutive victories over second-place Chicago, Minnesota now owns a cushy nine-game advantage on the White Sox with just 16 left to play.

"If you want to put distance between yourselves and somebody that's what you have to do, you have to win the series against them," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire after last night's 8-5 victory over the White Sox. "We did a heck of a job against them."

Delmon Young led the way offensively for the Twins by going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, with Michael Cuddyer also coming through with two RBI on the night. Joe Mauer added two hits and scored twice in the win, Minnesota's 11th in its past 12 contests.

Twins starter Carl Pavano (17-11) lasted only five innings and allowed five runs while serving up three homers, but still managed to register his 17th win of the season due to a strong showing by his team's bullpen. Five Minnesota relievers combined to hold the White Sox scoreless over the final four frames, with Matt Capps throwing the ninth to pick up his 13th save as a Twin.

Minnesota now has a magic number of eight to capture its second straight AL Central title and is closing in on home-field advantage for the entire AL Playoffs as well. Gardenhire's squad now trails Tampa Bay by only a half-game for the league's best record.

Playing at home could help the Twins overtake the Rays in the standings. Minnesota has won six straight games at Target Field and is 19-3 at its new ballpark since July 21. The club has compiled an impressive 48-23 record in Minneapolis for the season.

The Twins have also had success when taking on the Athletics this year. Minnesota has won five of the six clashes between the teams thus far in 2010 and swept a three-game set from Oakland at Target Field from August 13-15.

Gardenhire will hand the ball to Nick Blackburn, who's been a different pitcher since coming back from a needed trip to the minors, for tonight's opener.

An 11-game winner for the Twins in each of the previous two years, Blackburn was 7-7 with an awful 6.66 earned run average before being banished to Triple- A Rochester in late July. The right-hander returned to the majors on August 23 and has performed very well in four starts following the promotion, going 2-1 with an impressive 1.76 ERA and working seven innings or more in each of those assignments.

Blackburn fired eight shutout innings in his last outing, though he wound up without a decision in his team's 1-0 verdict at Cleveland this past Saturday. Six days earlier, he bested AL West-leader Texas at Target Field by tossing seven innings of two-run ball.

The 28-year-old was rocked for five runs and 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings of a road loss to Oakland back on June 5, however, and he's 0-3 with a subpar 7.24 ERA in six career starts against the A's.

Brian Anderson gets the call for Oakland tonight and will be aiming for a third consecutive winning start. After yielding just one run and four hits over 7 2/3 innings to top Seattle on September 6, the young lefty held Boston to two runs in seven effective frames in a 4-3 decision at the Coliseum on Saturday.

Anderson had lost four straight decisions prior to those two wins but has usually pitched well since coming off the disabled list in late July. The second-year major leaguer has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts and sports a very solid 2.94 ERA for the season.

The 22-year-old faced the Twins twice as a rookie last year and split a pair of decisions while pitching to a 4.97 ERA. The one victory took place last September at the Metrodome, where Anderson limited Minnesota to two runs on five hits through seven innings.

He'll be trying to halt a two-game losing streak for the A's, with both defeats coming on the road to Kansas City. Oakland was handed a 6-3 setback on Wednesday, with the Royals fighting back from an early 3-0 deficit to deny Trevor Cahill a 17th win of the season.

Cahill (16-7) gave up a go-ahead grand slam to Wilson Betemit in the bottom of the third inning and a two-run homer to Billy Butler in the fifth, the 2010 All-Star's final inning of work.

"You've just got to tip your cap," Cahill said about Betemit's at-bat. "He made me throw a pitch that he liked. He fouled off the ones that I thought were good. It was just an overall good at-bat and he won the battle."

Mark Ellis and Kurt Suzuki stroked back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the first to stake Cahill to a 2-0 lead, with Matt Carson extending the margin with a solo homer in the second.