MINNEAPOLIS -- Jesse Chavez said his main goal on Tuesday was to give his former bullpen mates a break. He did so, and then some.

Chavez pitched into the eighth inning and Tyler Clippard got five big outs to earn the save Tuesday as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Minnesota Twins 2-1.

Chavez (1-2) joined the Oakland rotation on April 23 after opening the season in the bullpen, and he was dominant against a Twins lineup that had averaged almost eight runs per game in a five-game winning streak. He struck out seven without allowing an earned run in 7 1/3 innings, bailing out a bullpen that had been overworked after A's starters failed to complete six innings in six of their last nine games.

"My whole goal today was to try to go as deep as I can and not use anybody, just give everybody a mental day down there," Chavez said. "That's something we all need and they needed down there, and I know how it is down there.

"It's a grind. But it's something we're going to get out of and today should be a jump start."

Chavez did get help from Clippard, who came on with one out in the eighth and stranded the tying runner on third. He then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save in only his fourth chance this year.

"Five outs is a lot, but he did it," said A?s manager Bob Melvin, who before the game had mentioned the possibility of using Clippard in the eighth inning rather than waiting for a save opportunity in the ninth that might never come.

Twins starter Trevor May (2-2) turned in a solid start but was done in by a rising pitch count. May had held the A's to one run over 5 2/3 innings, but when he walked Stephen Vogt with his 101st pitch, manager Paul Molitor went to his bullpen.

Reliever Brian Duensing promptly allowed singles to first baseman Ike Davis and third baseman Brett Lawrie to put Oakland on top 2-0.

"There were a couple instances where I didn't get a pitch where I needed to when I was way ahead," May said. "Those easily could have gone my way had I made a little better pitch."

The A's got on the board in the top of the first with a little bit of speed and a little bit of good fortune.

Center fielder Billy Burns led off the game with a single and promptly stole second base. It appeared he would be stranded there when the next two hitters flied out and designated hitter Billy Butler skied a foul ball down the right field line.

Twins right fielder Torii Hunter made a running catch, but the ball popped out as he collided with the wall. Given new life, Butler delivered Burns with a crisp single to right two pitches later and the A's led 1-0.

The rest of the night belonged to Chavez, who flashed his early-2014 form, when he earned some All-Star buzz as a starter before fading in the second half of the season.

"It was a good night for him," Molitor said. "We had been rolling pretty good offensively. I don't know if he took it personally or whatever, but he went out there and threw a lot of fastballs, had really good command, had it moving both directions, (and) kept it down in the zone."

NOTES: After the game the Twins put INF Eduardo Nunez on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. They recalled veteran infielder Doug Bernier from Triple-A Rochester to fill the roster opening. ... Twins manager Paul Molitor said he didn't put rookie Eddie Rosario in the starting lineup in part because of the team's recent success. The Twins scored 31 runs in a four-game weekend sweep of the Chicago White Sox, then scored eight more in beating Oakland on Monday. "I think a lot of times when a guy comes up you'd like to get him in there as quickly as you possibly can to kinda get his feet wet," Molitor said. "But I like the way the lineup looked last night." ... A's manager Bob Melvin said All-Star closer Sean Doolittle, who has not pitched yet this season because of a strained left rotator cuff, threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session at Target Field on Tuesday. "Probably for the first time he went after it 100 percent, or as much as you can do in a bullpen," said Melvin, who added that the next time Doolittle throws it could be against hitters. ... The A's released outfielder Cody Ross on Tuesday. Ross, who appeared in nine games for Oakland, was designated for assignment on May 2.