MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Rick Reed didn't let an incessant cough and
flu-like symptoms deter him from what he knew needed to be done.

	Rick Reed Starting Pitcher Minnesota Twins Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L Sv K ERA 24 10 6 0 81 4.32

Reed delivered a gritty performance, pitching a complete-game shutout, and Doug Mientkiewicz homered twice as the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 Tuesday night.

"It was tough,'' Reed said, coughing into his shirt. "I couldn't stop coughing. I'm just glad I was able to give our bullpen a rest. I've wanted to (go the distance) since April, it just took until August to do it.''

Reed (10-6) struck out four and walked one in his sixth career
shutout and first of the season. He has rebounded from a poor
midseason stretch in May and June, when he won just one game in nine
starts. He has won four of his last five starts since a no-decision
against Texas July 12.

"Rick Reed picked us up big-time,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We asked him if he was OK several times during the game, he told me, 'Sit the bullpen down, I got it.'''

Mientkiewicz had three hits and drove in three runs. David Ortiz also homered and added a two-run double in Minnesota's four-run
fourth inning.

Scott Erickson (5-11) was equally strong early, holding the AL Central leaders hitless for three innings.

The Twins got to Erickson in the fourth. Jacque Jones walked to lead off the inning and Cristian Guzman had a bloop single, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

Ortiz followed with a two-run double down the right-field line, and Mientkiewicz hit his seventh homer of the season and his first since July 24.

"I play first base, so I have to hit,'' Mientkiewicz said. "That's the bottom line.''

Ortiz led off the sixth with a solo homer -- his 14th -- to the upper deck in right field to make it 5-0.

Mientkiewicz connected again later in the inning. It was his second career two-homer game, the other coming April 27, 2001, also against the Orioles. That homer also chased Erickson from the game after 5 1/3 innings, seven hits and six earned runs.

The offensive burst was a welcome site for Gardenhire after a six-game road trip where the team went 1-5 and struggled at the plate.

"Doug and David finally got some pitches they could drive,''
Gardenhire said. "We went up against some good pitchers on the
road trip. Our guys just came through tonight.''

That was more than enough for Reed, who was determined to give
the team's overworked bullpen some rest. With starter Eric Milton and relievers Mike Jackson, Jack Cressend and Jose Rodriguez all on the disabled list, the pitching staff is thin, which puts added pressure on the starters to pitch well.

"We're a couple of guys short right now,'' Reed said. "The guys we have running out there have to go deep into games. We can't worry about ERAs right now. We have to eat innings.''

The Twins backed Reed with some stellar defense.

Center fielder Torii Hunter made a spectacular diving catch on Chris Singleton's line drive to the right-center gap in the first inning and Mientkiewicz laid out at first base to snag a throw by Guzman from shortstop on a hit by Chris Richard in the seventh.

Game notes
Twins 2B Luis Rivas extended his hitting streak to nine
games with a single in the fifth ... Ortiz's double broke an
0-for-19 slump ... The Orioles' loss dropped them to a
still-sparkling 40-12 in their last 52 games against the Twins. ...
Baltimore C Geronimo Gil has thrown out 13 of his last 21 runners
attempting to steal and has thrown out 25 of 68 (.368) on the year,
second best in the majors. ... The Orioles were shut out for the
12th time this season, tying them with Kansas City for second-most
in the AL (Tampa Bay, 13). ... As part of Native American Heritage
Night, pro golfer Notah Begay III, a college teammate of Tiger
Woods at Stanford, put a different spin on throwing out the first
pitch. Begay used a 9-iron to chip the ball off the Metrodome turf
to Twins C Tom Prince. The shot was a little high and outside.