Twins 9, Indians 3
Brian Duensing pitched six strong innings while Danny Valencia and Michael Cuddyer homered in leading the Minnesota Twins to a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.
The victory reduced the Twins' magic number to clinch the American League Central to two games after the second-place Chicago White Sox lost Monday.
Minnesota played the game without All-Star catcher Joe Mauer, who jammed his left knee Sunday and is listed as day-to-day, but that didn't stop the Twins' clutch hitting. All nine runs scored with two outs.
Duensing (10-2) allowed three runs and six hits. The left-hander gave up two runs in the sixth, but worked out of bases-loaded jam with one out to preserve the lead.
Valencia's two-out homer off Jeanmar Gomez (3-5) broke a 1-1 tie. Jason Repko's RBI single added a second run and Delmon Young's RBI single in the fifth put the Twins ahead, 4 -1.
Bases-loaded singles by Andy Marte and Drew Sutton each scored a run with one out in the sixth for the Indians, but Lou Marson struck out and Michael Brantley lined out.
The Twins scored four in the bottom of the inning. Denard Span, returning after missing three games with a sore shoulder, tripled in a run and scored on Orlando Hudson's single. Cuddyer followed with a two-run homer.
Gomez allowed eight runs in 5 2/3 innings.