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Silva strong as Twins edge Athletics

Jul 15, 2007 - 3:51 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Carlos Silva hurled 6 2/3 effective innings as the Minnesota Twins remained perfect since the All-Star break with a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics at the Metrodome on Saturday night.

Michael Cuddyer drove in two runs for the Twins, who will try to complete a sweep of their four-game series against the Athletics on Sunday.

The win was Minnesota's fifth in its last seven games and pushed the team a season-high five games over .500.

Silva (7-10) yielded three runs and two hits while striking out four and walking two. He surrendered only one hit and one walk through the first six innings and retired 15 batters in a row before Jack Cust drew a leadoff walk in the seventh.

"He was throwing the ball good and keeping it over the plate, for the most part," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "That was a great performance, and we needed it."

Until then, Oakland's only run against Silva came on an RBI groundout by Mark Kotsay in the second inning.

"I was just trying to throw strikes, keep the ball down, and that was it," Silva said.

His performance was the third consecutive strong showing by a Twins starter in this series. Scott Baker and Johan Santana allowed a total of two runs in 13 combined innings over the first two games.

"As a pitcher, after you see two guys throw like that, you want to do the same thing," Silva said.

That run in the second put the Athletics ahead, but the Twins quickly tied the game in the bottom of the frame when Jason Tyner's two-out single plated Justin Morneau. Morneau led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a deep flyout by Torii Hunter.

Minnesota took the lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by Cuddyer and stretched its advantage to 4-1 in the fifth. Luis Castillo led off the inning with a triple and Joe Mauer followed with an RBI double before scoring on a single by Cuddyer, whose bat has been sizzling since the break.

Silva, who finished with four strikeouts, was in total control until the seventh inning. After issuing the walk to Cust, Silva gave up a double by Dan Johnson before being replaced by Dennys Reyes.

Kotsay hit Reyes' first pitch into the right-center field gap to cut Oakland's deficit to 4-3. But Matt Guerrier got the final out of the inning to preserve the one-run lead and keep Silva in line for the win.

Pat Neshek worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Joe Nathan tossed a scoreless ninth for his 18th save.

Oakland starter Joe Blanton (8-6) allowed four runs and 10 hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out two.

"We hit balls hard but just didn't have anything to show for it," Kotsay said. "You could say that the struggles continue, but there were a lot of good at-bats."

Johnson had two hits for the A's (44-47), who lost their sixth straight game and fell three games below .500 for the first time this season. It is the first time Oakland has lost at least six consecutive games since May 2006.

Despite another loss, Oakland felt it was hitting the ball well but not getting any breaks.

"Something falls in here or there, and we win that game," A's manager Bob Geren said. "I really feel that way. The positive thing is that we started to make good contact at the plate."

Gardenhire has been on both sides of the offensive spectrum this season, so even though his team is riding high at the moment, he can sympathize with what the A's are going through.

"We've been through that, too," Gardenhire said. "Sometimes you've got to work the count and find some holes. We've been the team that's done that so far on this homestand."