MINNEAPOLIS -- There was a time when pitcher Levale Speigner was a member of the Twins organization, and manager Ron Gardenhire had nothing but praise for Speigner's performance Saturday night.

Unfortunately for Gardenhire and the Twins, Speigner's stellar outing was not as a member of the Twins, but as their chief competition as the starter for the visiting Washington Nationals.

Speigner was drafted by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, but he was scooped up by the Nationals in last year's Rule 5 Draft. In just his fifth start, he pitched six innings to hold the Twins to just one run on two hits as they dropped the second game of the Interleague series, 3-1.

"Speigner was tough on us," Gardenhire said. "It's the first time we've seen the young man since he's been in our organization. We got out-pitched tonight, if that was possible."

It was possible, even though Johan Santana pitched seven strong innings, giving up just two earned runs. It was Santana's second loss in a row, even though he has only given up five earned runs in that span.

The Twins have given the two-time Cy Young Award winner little to work with in his last four losses. They've scored just four runs in the 26 innings he has pitched.

The lack of run support has added up to frustration for Santana, who says that despite the losses, he's feeling great.

"I'm doing my job, it's just not working. It takes more than one guy," Santana said. "It's not just about one pitcher or one player. I always say it's a team effort. It doesn't matter how many innings you pitch if you're going to give up one or two runs -- if you're not able to score runs, then you're going to lose the game. So you become the loser, and that's the way it is.

"I'm very happy with everything that I have done. I know what it takes for me to do my job. I hope that all my teammates feel the same way and find a way to improve and do a better job out there."

The only offense the Twins provided Saturday night was Justin Morneau's solo home run in the second inning. The knock was Morneau's 17th of the season, ranking him second in the American League.

But the home run didn't do anything to brighten Morneau's spirits, as he shared frustration with Santana.

"The guy gives up three runs and he shouldn't lose the game," Morneau said. "We should be able to score more than one run, or three runs, for that matter. That seems to be the way it's been going. We get a good pitching performance and we don't hit."

The Twins offense wasn't the only problem Saturday night. Minnesota gave the Nationals extra outs to work with, and those outs turned into runs.

Nook Logan reached base for the Nationals in the third inning on Nick Punto's fielding error. Former Twin Cristian Guzman then got on with a single. Santana then made what may have been his only mistake of the game when Ryan Zimmerman cleared the bases with a home run to left field.

"Those are the kind of games where if you make a mistake, you have to pay for it," Santana said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to score many runs and made a couple mistakes, and that was the game."

The Twins offense took a hit Saturday, when Jason Kubel left the game after the third inning with a sprained right knee. Prior to Saturday's game, Kubel had hit three home runs in his last eight games and had hit safely in four of his last five games.

The sprain occurred when Kubel was chasing after Austin Kearns' ground-rule double down the left-field line in the second inning. Kubel said he caught a spike in the rubber or turf and hyper-extended the knee.

It's the same knee in which Kubel had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but Kubel doesn't expect to be out any longer than a couple of days. The knee will be reevaluated Sunday, and Kubel may undergo an MRI on Monday if doctors deem it necessary.

The Twins have now dropped the first two games in their three-game set against a Nationals team that was 24-36 when it came to Minnesota. Ironically, Friday night's winning pitcher for the Nationals, Jason Simontacchi, was also a one-time member of the Twins organization.