Before, Eveland began his delivery with his hands over his head, but after putting up an ERA of 13.89 in his first three starts after the All-Star break, Eveland was sent down to try to figure out a way to improve his control. He now starts with his hands at his belt, and he has simplified the delivery to eliminate all extra movement.

One nice plus for Eveland: He's even better out of the stretch now than the windup, in part because the delivery is almost exactly the same. Before, his delivery from the windup and the stretch were so different, Eveland said, he sometimes confused himself.

With Justin Duchscherer sidelined due to hip soreness, Eveland is the most experienced of the A's starters, and right now, he's pitching like the leader of the staff.

ATHLETICS 3, TWINS 2: For the first time in seven weeks, the A's have consecutive victories, thanks to frequent late-game hero Kurt Suzuki. The second-year catcher is 6-for-10 this season as a pinch hitter, and Thursday he provided a game-winning pinch double with one out in the ninth. That gave the A's back-to-back wins for the first time since July 10-11. Joey Devine got the win in relief to go to 4-0.