Indians 17, Twins 4
CLEVELAND -- Jerry Sands' pinch-grand slam capped a five-run fifth inning and the Cleveland Indians rolled to a 17-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night at Progressive Field.
Right-hander Trevor Bauer (9-8) pitched into the seventh inning to get the win. But the Cleveland offense, which scored 26 runs in splitting the first two games of the series, led the way to a rare win at home for the Indians.
Cleveland is 21-33 at Progressive Field, the fewest home victories in the majors.
Center fielder Abraham Almonte, recalled from Triple-A Columbus before the game, went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs.
Second baseman Jose Ramirez and left fielder Michael Brantley each had three hits for the Indians, who collected 19 hits against seven Twins pitchers, the last of whom was outfielder Shane Robinson.
Sands' grand slam gave Cleveland a 13-3 lead after five innings. The Twins scored their fourth run in the sixth on a home run by left fielder Eddie Rosario. All four of the Minnesota runs were the result of homers.
Rosario and first baseman Joe Mauer belted solo shots and catcher Kurt Suzuki hit a two-run homer for the slumping Twins, who have lost six of their last seven games.
Almonte's home run, a two-run shot, came off right-hander A.J. Achter in the eighth. Achter gave up two more hits and a walk, loading the bases and prompting Minnesota manager Paul Molitor to bring in Robinson from right field to get the last three outs of the inning.
Robinson walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run, but then retired the next three batters in order to end the inning.
Bauer, who came into the game with an 0-3 record and a 6.07 ERA in five career starts against Minnesota, pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs and seven hits with eight strikeouts and three walks.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Mauer belted his seventh home run over the right-field wall.
The Indians responded by scoring eight runs in the first three innings, all of the runs charged to right-hander Ervin Santana (2-3).
In 10 career starts at Progressive Field, Santana is 1-7 with a 6.62 ERA. The only win was a no-hitter in 2011.
Ramirez led off the bottom of the first with a single. He went to second on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Francisco Lindor and scored on a single by Brantley. After Brantley stole second, first baseman Carlos Santana singled Brantley to third. Brantley scored on a two-out single by right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall, giving Cleveland a 3-1 lead.
The Indians added two more runs in the second. Almonte led off with a double and scored on a triple by Ramirez. Lindor's sacrifice fly drove in Ramirez, giving the Indians a 5-1 lead.
In the third, the Indians score four more times. With one out, third baseman Giovanny Urshela singled and went to third on Almonte's second double of the game. Catcher Roberto Perez walked, loading the bases. Ramirez followed with a double, scoring Urshela and Almonte to make it 7-1.
Santana was removed from the game after Ramirez's hit. In 2 1/3 innings. Santana gave up eight runs and 10 hits.
Perez scored on a sacrifice fly by Lindor against right-hander J.R. Graham and the Indians had an 8-1 lead.
The Twins got two runs back in the fourth when Rosario singled and rode home on a two-out, two-run homer by Suzuki, cutting the Cleveland lead to 8-3.
But the Indians blew it open for good in the bottom of the fifth when designated hitter Yan Gomes drew a bases- loaded walk from Graham to make it 9-3. Sands then hit the grand slam over the right-field wall off right-hander Blaine Boyer to make it 13-3.
NOTES: The Indians recalled RHP Shawn Armstrong and OF Abraham Almonte from Triple-A Columbus. OF Tyler Holt was optioned to Columbus and RHP Cody Anderson was placed on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. ... INF Chris Johnson, acquired by the Indians from the Atlanta Braves in a trade on Friday, was in uniform for the first time on Saturday. ... Twins OF Eddie Rosario had two triples on Friday night, bringing his season total to eight. That's one shy of the team record for most triples by a rookie by Tony Oliva in 1964.