(Sports Network) - The Minnesota Twins hope to avoid their fourth straight loss in Oakland this evening, as they play the second test of a four-game set with the Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.

The Twins lost for the fifth time in their last six tries on Thursday when Kurt Suzuki's pinch-hit, game-winning double in the ninth lifted Oakland to a 3-2 win.

With the contest knotted at 2-2, Ryan Sweeney opened the ninth with a single off Craig Breslow (0-2) and moved to second on Daric Barton's sacrifice bunt. Jesse Crain was called upon to face pinch-hitter Emil Brown, who worked a walk before being replaced at first by Cliff Pennington. Suzuki then belted a double off the wall in left-center to score Sweeney for the 3-2 victory.

Sweeney and Bobby Crosby, both activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, each had two hits and scored a run in the win, while Barton added an RBI for the A's, who have won two straight for the first time since July 10-11.

Starter Dana Eveland pitched well but wound up with a no-decision, as he lasted seven innings and gave up two runs on five hits while walking three with a pair of strikeouts. Joey Devine (4-0) was credited with the win after tossing a scoreless ninth.

Justin Morneau and Nick Punto both drove in a run for the Twins, who are 3-5 on their season-long 14-game road trip. Starter Nick Blackburn lasted 5 2/3 innings and was touched for two runs on six hits while registering a pair of walks and as many strikeouts in the no-decision.

With the loss, Minnesota fell 1 1/2 games back of the idle first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and remained 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild card standings. Boston fell to New York earlier Thursday.

Hoping to get the Twins back on track tonight will be right-hander Kevin Slowey, who is 10-8 with a 3.74 ERA. Slowey did not get a decision in his last start on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, as he allowed a pair of runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 frames of a his team's 5-3 loss.

Slowey, though, has won his last three and four of his last five decisions, surrendering two runs or less six of his last seven outings.

The 24-year-old hurler defeated the A's two starts ago and is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA against them in two starts.

Oakland, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on 27-year-old lefty Dan Meyer, who is still searching for his first big league win. Meyer was tagged with the loss on Sunday in Seattle, yielding four runs and three hits in five innings, dropping him to 0-2 on the year, while raising his ERA to 5.95.

Meyer, who is 0-4 lifetime with a 6.87 ERA in 15 games (five starts) for the Braves and A's, has never faced the Twins.

Oakland has won four of its seven matchups with the Twins this season, but is 10-14 in the series since the start of the 2006 campaign.