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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The longer Joe Mays was on the mound in Wednesday's ALDS Game 2, the deeper the Twins' hole became. But unlike Game 1, the hole was too deep. There would be no stunning comeback.

The A's made sure of that by burying Minnesota with a five-run fourth inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead en route to 9-1 victory at Network Associates Coliseum and evening the best-of-five series at one game apiece.

Paced by the A's 14-hit attack, Oakland lefty Mark Mulder (1-0) held the Twins to one run on five hits over his six innings of work. The lone run allowed was a Cristian Guzman home run to left field in the fifth inning.

The series now shifts to the Metrodome, where Games 3 and 4 will be played Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Twins send 15-game winner Rick Reed out to face 23-game winner Barry Zito, another tough left-hander.

Throughout his 3 2/3-inning performance, Mays (0-1) was kept in hot water by Oakland's batters. Even though he worked the outside part of the plate, A's hitters reached out and connected to the opposite field.

"I didn't do my job," Mays said. "They were going after the sinker down and away, and I didn't effectively pitch inside. That's what I get. They know I'm a sinkerball pitcher, and they just went out there and got it."

Just as nervousness plagued the Twins in the early innings on Tuesday, Mays had to work through some playoff jitters himself. Mays said he was "tensed up" and "too wired" at the start of Game 2. More >

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- As soon as Eric Chavez's mammoth three-run homer fell to earth some 400 feet away from home plate Wednesday, Miguel Tejada had one thought.

"Not enough."

Tejada, with Tuesday's blown lead in Game 1 of the American League Division Series still fresh in his head, was certain the A's would need more than what Chavez gave them in the first inning to win Game 2.

"They sent us a message in Game 1, and that message was that they don't quit," Tejada explained. "Three-run lead? We had that in the first inning Tuesday, too."

As it turned out, the A's didn't need any more than what Chavez provided with his prodigious poke. Mark Mulder was masterful for six innings, Oakland's beleaguered bullpen threw three shutout innings, and a 9-1 drubbing evened the series as it heads to Minnesota for Game 3 on Friday.

But to a man, the A's agreed that the sense that they did need more was a huge help in maintaining their intensity throughout.

"I don't want to say we let up Tuesday," said outfielder Terrence Long, "but we didn't finish them off, either."

As Tejada pointed out, the A's led 3-0 after the first inning Tuesday. They led 5-1 after the second. Then the offense dried up, the pitching broke down and the Twins came back to win, 7-5. The glaring number on the stat sheet: 12, for men left on base. Through the first few innings, Wednesday had a familiar feel for the A's. More >

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