Oakland, CA (My Sportsbook) - Mark Mulder pitched six strong innings and Eric Chavez belted a three-run homer to lead Oakland to a 9-1 win over Minnesota in Game 2 of their American League Division Series. Game 3 of the best-of-five matchup is scheduled for Friday at the Metrodome.

Mulder (1-0), making his third career postseason start, allowed only one run on five hits. The lefthander struck out three and walked two. Chad Bradford tossed two shutout innings and Billy Koch got the final three outs in the ninth to end the game.

"With the run support that I got, it made it easier for me to come out," said Mulder. "After we got a big early lead, I couldn't let them get back in it like they did in Game 1. Once I got a couple of zeros, I felt good."

David Justice finished 2-for-5 with a three-run triple and Mark Ellis added three hits and an RBI for Oakland, which ended a four-game postseason slide. The Athletics also avoided their sixth consecutive postseason home loss.

"We came in ready to play yesterday, they (Twins) just outplayed us and got the job done," said Oakland manager Art Howe. "But today we were just a little more determined and found a way to get it done."

Oakland captured its 72nd postseason win, tying the St. Louis Cardinals for second on the all-time list. The New York Yankees have 183 postseason victories.

Minnesota starter Joe Mays suffered the loss. Mays (0-1) was touched for six runs and nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings. The righthander walked two batters and struck out one.

Cristian Guzman clubbed a homer and Matthew LeCroy contributed a pair of hits for the Twins, who captured Game 1, 7-5.

"We belong. Today, it might not seem that we belong, but they came out with a whooping stick," said Twins outfielder Torii Hunter.

Chavez' three-run blast in the first gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. Ray Durham started the inning with a walk and hustled to third on Scott Hatteberg's double off the wall in right. Corey Koskie then made a diving stab on Miguel Tejada's ground ball for the first out. Chavez stepped to the plate and crushed Mays' 1-1 offering to right.

The Athletics had runners at the corners with no outs in the second, but Ramon Hernandez struck out, Durham flied out and Hatteberg grounded out to end the inning.

With the bases loaded and two away in the third, A's centerfielder Terrence Long flied out to left to end the inning.

Oakland scored five runs on three hits in the fourth for a comfortable 8-0 advantage. Hernandez grounded out to start the inning, but Mays hit Durham with a 1-1 pitch. After Hatteberg flied out, Tejada ripped an RBI double to the wall in left-center.

"We were able to put some hits together," said Howe. "We kept the pressure on and finally broke it open."

Chavez was intentionally walked, Tony Fiore relieved Mays of his duties on the mound and Jermaine Dye walked to load the bases. Justice then stroked a triple to right and Ellis followed with a run-scoring double.

The Athletics continued to extend their lead with a run in the fifth. Durham doubled to the gap in right-center field and raced to third on Fiore's wild pitch. Hatteberg was the next batter and singled to right, scoring Durham for a 9-0 cushion.

Minnesota cracked the scoring column in the sixth, courtesy of Guzman's solo home run. Guzman started the frame by belting Mulder's 2-2 offering just over the scoreboard in left to make it 9-1.

"I thought we were out playing defense too much," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "We talk about that all the time, 'Get the boys off the field,' and we didn't do that today."