Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Carl Pavano notched his second complete game of the season and Justin Morneau finished 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored as Minnesota quieted Philadelphia, 4-1, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series from Citizens Bank Park.
Pavano’s Complete Game Leads Twins In 4-1 Victory Over Phils
Denard Span also went deep, while Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel also knocked in a run each for the Twins, who won two of three in the set and four of six overall.
Pavano (8-6) scattered four hits and a run with two strikeouts to record his third straight win.
"A complete game, in that heat, shutting a good team down like that? That's impressive," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire of Pavano's day on the mound. "It's an unbelievable lineup there and Carl kept them off-balance."
Wilson Valdez homered for the Phillies, who dropped two in a row after winning three straight.
Roy Halladay (8-6) worked eight innings in the loss, his third in a row, charged with 11 hits and four runs -- three earned -- while fanning eight.
“We keep doing things well but don’t catch some breaks and we feel like we have to restart a little bit,” Halladay said of his and his team’s collective month-plus-long slump. “We need to get it going in the right direction.”
Minnesota jumped on top in the first as Orlando Hudson singled with one out, stole second and scored on a Mauer base hit.
Pavano didn't allow a hit until the fourth, when Placido Polanco and Chase Utley both singled. However, the home team couldn't make anything of the threat as the next three batters were retired.
Span’s one-out solo homer in the fifth made it 2-0 for the Twins, but Valdez countered on his one-out solo shot in the home half.
Morneau started the sixth with a single and moved to second on a throwing error, setting the stage for Kubel’s RBI single which restored Minnesota’s two-run edge.
Morneau then reached the seats in right with one down in the eighth for a 4-1 game.
The Phillies went down meekly to Pavano in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames. Ryan Howard's two-out single in the ninth was for naught as Jayson Werth's fly to left ended the contest.
Pavano turned in an eight-inning complete game in a 3-0 loss at Detroit on April 29...Halladay hasn’t won since June 4, and is just 2-5 with a no- decision since May 6...Both teams are back in action on Tuesday with the Twins continuing their interleague road trip at Milwaukee, while the Phillies welcome Cleveland for three.
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