SEATTLE -- Right-hander Kyle Lohse continued the best month of his Major League career and the Minnesota offense backed him with a 14-hit attack as the Twins topped the Mariners, 7-2, in front of 45,306 at Safeco Field in Seattle to even the three-game series at one apiece.
Lohse (4-3) went the distance for his second complete game of the month and year, and third complete game of his career. He allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven for the win and improved his May record to 2-0 with a sparkling 1.67 ERA. He's allowed just seven runs on 30 hits this month in 37 2/3 innings of work.
"Except for two outings I think the whole season I've been pretty strong," Lohse said of his success. "It's just one of those things where you get on a streak and everything feels good. You're not missing too many spots and working ahead of the hitters."
The 24-year-old got off to a strong start, retiring the first nine batters he faced before a leadoff single in the fourth by Ichiro Suzuki. He then sat down nine in a row until a two-out single in the eighth.
"That was a pretty good one right there," Lohse added of his performance. "It felt good to go out against a good team like that and get through the way I did tonight."
"He was lights-out tonight. He was outstanding," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said of his battery-mate's performance. "He had a good fastball, a very good slider, one of the better sliders he's had the whole year. He threw the ball great. It was fun to be back there and be part of that."
Last year, Lohse didn't allow an earned run in six innings in his only appearance against the Mariners. He struck out a career-high nine batters in that outing.
"It all starts with your starting pitcher," manager Ron Gardenhire said following the win. "Kyle Lohse was outstanding. He's been throwing the ball well for us and he was really good again tonight against a very good offensive team."
Pierzynski got the Twins offense started in the bottom of the second inning with a three-run blast into the seats in right field, his fourth home run on the season, scoring Todd Sears and Dustan Mohr.
Minnesota upped its lead to 4-0 with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Chris Gomez, who finished a home run short of the cycle, led off with a triple and scored on a two-out single by Matt LeCroy that got past a diving Mark McLemore at third base.
After Seattle touched Lohse for a run in the bottom of the fourth inning on John Olerud's RBI single, the Twins came back with a pair of runs in their half of the fifth inning. The rally started with two outs and nobody on base as Pierzynski and Luis Rivas reached on a pair of base hits. Jacque Jones followed with a drive off the wall in left-center field for a double, plating both runners and putting the Twins up, 6-1.
"A.J. came up with a big one for us early in the game," Gardenhire added. "After that, we just picked up some runs here and there."
Seattle starter Joel Pineiro (4-4) took the loss for the Mariners, allowing six runs on 12 hits in five innings as he dropped his career record to 0-2 versus the Twins.
"I think we had good at-bats off him," Pierzynski said of the Twins' approach against Pineiro. "We tried to get deep in the count, make him throw some pitches and he threw a hundred pitches after five innings and that means we did a good job of getting to him and battling."
The Mariners got another run back in the fifth on a two-out infield single off the bat of Ichiro that scored Randy Winn. But once again, the Twins had an immediate answer as Corey Koskie greeted Mariner reliever Julio Mateo in the sixth inning by hitting his third pitch out of the park for a solo home run, number six on the year for the Twins third basemen.
Another bright note for the Twins came in the bottom of the ninth inning when first basemen Doug Mientkiewicz made his first appearance since spraining his ankle Sunday in the Metrodome. He entered the game as a defensive replacement at first base.
"The offense did a great job tonight of getting me a big lead and letting me relax a little bit out there on the mound," Lohse said of his teammates support.