DETROIT -- Following two straight blowout losses, the time had come for the Twins to take some sort of measure to try and right what looks to be a sinking ship.

A short five-minute team meeting was held following the Twins' 18-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday at Comerica Park, in an effort to figure out how to turn the season around.

The Twins have slumbered to a 9-14 record, including going 3-11 on the road. The peak of the team's lackluster play came Saturday in the pounding the club took from one of its division rivals, the Tigers.

It was more than just giving up 18 runs, but the way the team did it. Sloppy defensive play combined with poor pitching performances and an inability to get things done at the plate all rolled together in game that was embarrassing for anyone on the team to watch unfold.

"Right now, we're just not playing good baseball and the other team is playing really good baseball," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You put those two together and we're getting waxed."

Saturday's game was nothing short of an effort that was downright disappointing, considering just how poor of an overall performance it was by the entire club.

The 18-1 defeat was the most lopsided loss for the Twins since April 23, 1980, when the team lost, 17-0, to the California Angels.

Five Twins pitchers combined to give up 23 hits in the game, just one shy of the franchise record.

In their two games against the Tigers, the Twins have been outscored, 27-1.

"We got our butt whooped," Torii Hunter said of the game. "That's baseball and it happens sometimes. We've done that to plenty of teams. It was our turn for it to happen to us. Unfortunately, it happened two days in a row."

The beginning of the game on Saturday almost looked like a repeat from the night before. Starter Carlos Silva lasted only 2 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs on nine hits in his outing. It was the second straight game that the Twins starter couldn't last past the third inning. On Friday, Brad Radke lasted a total of only 2 1/3 innings while allowing six runs.

Silva (1-4) was batted around for almost his entire outing as he gave up a total of three home runs, including a three-run blast by Carlos Guillen in the first inning. Guillen would launch another long ball, this one a two-run homer, in the third. A ground-ball pitcher, Silva has given up a total of 10 home runs already this season, a number that is tied for the league lead along with Radke.

"I know I have to keep working," Silva said of his recent struggles. "You have two options -- working and giving up. I'm never going to give up. So my option is to keep working and get better."

Francisco Liriano didn't fare much better than Silva. The 22-year-old phenom threw three innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. Liriano struck out five but struggled with control of his pitches in the outing. Liriano threw three wild pitches, including one that scored a run for the Tigers.

"We're struggling as a staff and you can't just point to one individual and say, 'If you patch that hole or this hole, we'll be OK,'" Gardenhire said. "We have good pitchers and right now we just have to get our starters in line. To make Liriano the savior of our pitching staff is the wrong thing to do. The saviors are right out there, the guys in our rotation. They are the ones that have to get going. We believe in them and stand behind them."

Standing behind each other was the theme of the team's meeting on Saturday. But Gardenhire isn't concerned the club is going to let itself get too down in the first month of the season.

"I would worry if we didn't have good character on this team," Gardenhire said. "They are not going to quit. They are not going to throw in the towels because if they do, they won't be here. The players understand that we don't do that around here."

For Silva and some of the other players, the meeting served its purpose to let them know that they need to stick together and battle through the difficult times.

"He made me feel a lot better," Silva said of Gardenhire's talk. "It's very nice to hear that your manager is behind you. After the meeting, I put my head back up."

Exactly what it will take to get the team back to its winning ways is still uncertain, but one thing is clear -- everyone is doing whatever it takes to get there.

"Believe me, everybody is doing a lot of soul searching to figure out what we can do to turn this around," Gardenhire said.