Twins 2 - 0 Padres
Final
  for this game

Hughes leads Twins' shutout of Padres

May 22, 2014 - 5:58 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Phil Hughes spun seven shutout innings and the Minnesota Twins blanked the San Diego Padres, 2-0, at Petco Park.

Hughes (5-1) scattered seven hits -- all singles -- struck out seven and did not walk a batter in winning his fifth consecutive decision.

"I wanted to throw strikes, be aggressive because I feel like my stuff is good enough," Hughes said.

Trevor Plouffe's solo homer and Chris Parmelee's sacrifice fly provided the offense for the Twins, who moved two games over .500 (23-21) for the first time this season.

Minnesota has won each of the last eight meetings against the Padres, including both in this two-game series.

Tyson Ross (5-4) struck out eight over seven solid innings and only gave up three hits and three walks, but was nonetheless saddled with the loss after the Twins manufactured a run off him in the sixth.

"You hate to spoil one of those starts when a guy throws as well as (Ross) did," Padres third baseman Chase Headley said.

Joe Mauer walked with one away and swiped his second base of the season to get into scoring position. Plouffe's swinging bunt put runners on the corners, and Parmelee's flyout to left was deep enough for Mauer to score without a play at the plate.

Plouffe crushed Dale Thayer's payoff pitch into the second deck in left field in the eighth, and the combination of Casey Fien and Glen Perkins behind Hughes sent the Padres to their fourth loss in five games.

Perkins pitched a perfect ninth to collect his 14th save.

Game Notes

Minnesota was outhit, 8-4 ... Hughes' ERA has gone from 7.20 after three starts to 3.15 ... Ross lowered his ERA to 2.64... Twins shortstop Danny Santana struck out in all four of his at-bats ... Twins leadoff hitter Brian Dozier went 0-for-4 to end a 10-game hitting streak ... Through 46 games, the Padres have played 31 that were decided by two runs or less (15-16), the most in the majors ... The Twins also swept the Padres in three-game sets in 2008 (at San Diego) and 2011 (at Minnesota).






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