Avery Rocked As Cincy Falls

The American League's worst team is teeing off on some of the best the National League has to offer.

One night after pounding out a season-high 21 hits against NL Central-leading Houston, the Twins put an end to Cincinnati's eight-game winning streak.

The Twins tagged Steve Avery for seven runs and six hits in less than two innings his shortest start in three seasons and beat the Reds 8-6 Monday night.

Minnesota has 35 hits in two nights.

"We're definitely taking our hacks," Matt Lawton said. "That's what it's going to take to score runs, got to keep swinging."

After Barry Larkin's sacrifice liner to center gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead in the first, Avery gave up four runs in the bottom half of the inning, all unearned but all his fault.

He appeared to work out of a bases-loaded jam when he got Chad Allen to hit a delicate comebacker with two outs. But he fumbled the ball, then threw it away, allowing two runs.

"My 5-year-old kid could make that play," said Avery, who apologized to his teammates after the game. "That was embarrassing."

"That's what really killed us, when he threw that ball away," Reds manager Jack McKeon said.

Corey Koskie followed Avery's miscue with a two-run single for a 4-1 lead.

"We got a little lucky in the first inning," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. "Avery stumbled and the ball got away. Then, we had two guys picked off, so all in all, it was pretty entertaining."

Avery picked off Koskie to get out of the inning, just as he'd caught Lawton leaning for the first out. But that was all that went right for Avery (3-5), who failed to retire another batter.

Javier Valentin's double leading off the second was followed by three straight singles, including one by Denny Hocking that drove in a run. Brent Gates and Ron Coomer added run-scoring singles off Gabe White for a 7-1 lead.

"I feel bad for the guys. I lose the game an make the bullpen pitch eight more innings," said Avery, who also got tagged for seven runs in less than two innings on May 28 at Florida, the only other loss on the Reds' 12-game road trip that concludes Wednesday.

"The team's been playing so well. We could be undefeated on the trip if I didn't go out and pitch two terrible games," Avery said.

After Greg Vaughn's fielder's choice grounder made it 7-2 in the fifth, Eddie Taubensee extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with a two-run homer that made it 7-4.

Valentin had an RBI single off Jason Bere in the fifth, but Pokey Reese bounced his fourth homer off the left-field wall against Joe Mays in the sixth, closing Cincinnati to 8-6.

Then, unlike all season, the Twins' bullpen worked wonders, retiring the next 11 batters. Mike Trombley, who had blown three saves in six chances, struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.

"Joe Mays did a great job," Trombley said. "The home run he gave up was kind of a wall scraper. Bobby Wells is just throwing great. Eddie Guardado and I always say the bullpen feeds off each other, just like hitters do."

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