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Hernandez strives to remain perfect vs. Oakland

Apr 22, 2008 - 1:12 PM Minnesota (9-10) at Oakland (12-8) 10:05 pm EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - After surrendering his first three homers of the season in his last outing, Livan Hernandez should be happy to see the major's least powerful team.

Hernandez will aim to continue his unbeaten start as his Minnesota Twins travel to McAfee Coliseum to start a three-game set against the surprising Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.

Hernandez (3-0, 3.00 ERA) has been anchoring the rotation since signing as a free agent in the offseason with Minnesota, which has won in each of his four starts.

However, the righthander endured his worst performance in a Minnesota uniform on Wednesday, allowing five runs - three earned - and eight hits over six frames in a 6-5 victory over Tampa Bay.

It marked the first time this season that Hernandez allowed a home run or failed to go at least six innings. He'll try to avoid a similar fate against Oakland, which has hit a major league-low seven homers this season.

That fact alone may make things tough for Joe Blanton (1-3, 4.24), who has been provided with two runs of support or less in four of his five starts.

The righthander lasted eight innings on Wednesday, but surrendered all four runs and tied a career high by allowing 12 hits in the A's 4-2 loss to Seattle.