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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Oakland will take Tim Hudson vs. Sean Bergman
any day.
Hudson won his sixth straight decision, and third consecutive
start against Bergman and Minnesota, as the surging Athletics
defeated the Twins 9-6 Wednesday night.
"Some people just match up better against certain lineups,"
said Hudson, who saw his ERA fall to 1.19 against the Twins this
year. "Obviously I go out there with a bit of confidence."
Hudson (7-2) allowed one run and three hits in eight innings to
improve to 6-0 over his last 10 starts. He has not lost since April
20 at Cleveland.
The right-hander struck out seven and walked three in his
longest outing of the season.
"He's established himself as one of the better pitchers in the league and he cycled us again tonight," Twins manager Tom Kelly said.
"Look at his record," manager Art Howe said. "The man can
pitch, period."
Bergman (4-5), meanwhile, allowed five runs and 11 hits in six
innings in falling to 0-3 against Hudson and Oakland this season.
He actually lowered his ERA against the A's from 27 to 15.68.
"They've really had my number," Bergman said. "This team
might feel confident against me knowing they've hit me pretty well
in the past, but I also need to make better pitches.
"I knew I had to have good stuff tonight against Hudson because
he's showed what a pitcher he is," Bergman added.
Jason Giambi and Ben Grieve hit back-to-back homers for Oakland,
which won for the 11th time in 14 games.
The A's are seven games over .500 for the first time this season and, at 36-29, are off to their best start in eight years. Oakland leads the majors with a 21-12 road record.
Giambi went 4-for-4 with a double and drove in four runs. He hit
a two-run homer in the third and Grieve followed with a solo shot
as Oakland won for the 11th time in 14 games.
Giambi reached base safely in 21 of 25 plate appearances.
"You start to get in that zone or whatever," Giambi said.
"After a while you just get in sync with everything going on in
the game."
Matt Stairs went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for the
Athletics. He was 1-for-19 on the current road trip.
Jacque Jones hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored five
times in the ninth inning. David Ortiz also homered for the Twins.
Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Eric Chavez's
sacrifice fly. Stairs led off with a double off Bergman and moved
to third on a groundout. Chavez then lifted a fly ball that Jones
caught at the center-field wall.
In the third, Randy Velarde singled with one out and scored on
Giambi's 20th home run. Grieve followed with his ninth homer, a
408-foot shot off Bergman that made it 4-0.
David Ortiz homered off Hudson in the fourth to cut Minnesota's
deficit to 4-1. Ortiz hit a 425-foot shot to center for his second
homer.
Stairs hit a solo shot in the sixth, his 11th, to restore
Oakland's four-run lead. Giambi's RBI double in the seventh made it
6-1, and he hit an RBI single in the ninth.
Stairs drove in two runs with a single to make it 9-1.
Minnesota's Matt Lawton singled in the sixth to extend his
hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Game notes
It was the fifth time the A's have hit back-to-back homers
this year. ... Oakland has won 15-of-21 games since a five-game
losing streak. The A's have not lost consecutive games since that
streak. ... In 1992, the A's were 39-26 after 65 games. ... Oakland
won its eighth road series of the year, after winning just seven in
1999. ... Bergman has gone six-plus innings in just five of his 14
starts. ... Oakland has won five of six in Minnesota, its most wins
in the Metrodome since going 5-2 in 1983.
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