Twins 5, Indians 1
Samuel Deduno allowed three hits over six innings and Josh Willingham hit a two-run double as Minnesota extended Cleveland’s recent misery at home.
Deduno (8-7), who walked four and struck out six, overcame an uneven first inning that included two wild pitches and gave up only one hit thereafter to snap a personal three-game losing streak. Pedro Florimon and Chris Herrmann added RBI doubles to improve Minnesota’s record to 3-4 in Cleveland this season.
Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8) permitted two runs over six frames – the sixth straight outing he has yielded two earned runs or fewer - and struck out a season-high 10 for the Indians, who fell to 1-7 over their last eight home contests. Cleveland slipped six games behind Detroit in the American League Central and 2 1/2 games behind Oakland in the wild-card chase.
The Indians struck for their only run in the first as Michael Bourn led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Carlos Santana’s two-out single. Florimon knotted it in the second with a two-out RBI double off the wall in center and Herrmann doubled for the second time in as many at-bats to put the Twins up for good.
Deduno gave up only Santana's fourth-inning single after surrendering two hits in the first and got some insurance runs before departing as Willingham’s two-out double in the seventh found the gap in right-center. Trevor Plouffe accounted for the final run in the eighth on a double-play grounder from Wilkin Ramirez.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Deduno, has who been dealing with tendinitis in his right arm, was 0-3 with a 7.02 ERA over his previous three starts. … Jimenez is 2-4 over his last six starts despite a 2.27 ERA, due in part because his offense has scored a total of four runs in his losses. … Indians 2B Jason Kipnis entered Friday batting .447 (21-for-47) with 10 extra-base hits and 18 RBIs against Minnesota this season, but went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He is 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts all-time against Deduno.