(Sports Network) - After receiving a near history-making performance from Scott Baker on Friday, the Minnesota Twins would love to see an encore out of Carlos Silva when the right-hander takes the mound for this afternoon's contest with the Kansas City Royals from the Metrodome.

Baker set down the first 24 Kansas City hitters he faced and had a no-hitter through 8 1/3 innings to lead the Twins to a 5-0 victory in last night's finale of a day/night doubleheader.

The teams wound up splitting the twinbill, with the Royals claiming a 9-4 win in game one.

Baker (8-6) lost his bid to become the 18th pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game when he walked John Buck to start the ninth inning. He then got Esteban German to hit into a force out before yielding Mike Sweeney's pinch-hit single to left-center field that spoiled the potential no-hit bid.

The young right-hander rebounded to retire the final two hitters to complete the one-hit shutout. Baker struck out a career-high nine and threw 81 of his 111 pitches for strikes.

Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak with its decision in the nightcap.

In the opener, Ross Gload went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead Kansas City to victory. Emil Brown added a pair of hits and two RBI, while starting pitcher Kyle Davies allowed three runs on four hits over five innings to record the win.

Matt Garza (3-5) took the loss for the Twins after getting tagged for eight runs (four earned) and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Silva had been pitching extremely well until he got hit around at Cleveland this past Monday. The native Venezuelan surrendered seven runs -- six earned -- on seven hits before exiting after 3 1/3 innings in an 8-3 Minnesota loss.

He had allowed two runs or less in five consecutive starts, posting a 2-1 record and a 1.75 earned run average over that span and pitching at least seven innings in each of those games.

Silva is 4-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 10 career outings against Kansas City and defeated the Royals at the Metrodome on July 31 by yielding just two runs over eight innings.

Brandon Duckworth will make his first major league appearance since June 13 when he gets the start today for Kansas City. The right-hander has spent the last 2 1/2 months on the disabled list with a torn oblique muscle.

Duckworth began the season in the Royals rotation and made two starts before being shifted to the bullpen. In 18 overall appearances this year, he is 2-3 with one save and a 2.94 ERA.

The 31-year-old is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Twins and threw a scoreless inning of relief at the Metrodome on April 25.

Kansas City holds a slight 7-6 edge in the season series after going just 20-37 against the Twins the previous three seasons. The Royals have also lost five of their last eight in Minnesota.