Indians 8, Twins 1
CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber flirted with a no-hitter, and Cleveland's lineup had another big offensive day as the Indians rolled to an 8-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field.
The Indians scored 34 runs in winning two of the three games of the series.
Kluber (7-12) held Minnesota hitless through six innings, facing the minimum 18 batters in that span. The only base runner was center fielder Aaron Hicks, who drew a walk with one out in the fourth inning. Hicks was promptly erased when the next batter, designated hitter Joe Mauer, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Kluber, a right-hander, retired the first two batters in the seventh inning before Mauer lined a 1-2 pitch to left field for a clean single, ending Kluber's no-hit bid.
Kluber had to settle for a three-hitter, the other hits being ninth-inning doubles by left fielder Shane Robinson and Hicks that produced the Twins' only run. It is Kluber's third complete game of the season. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Cleveland hitters continued their three-day mauling of Minnesota's starting pitchers by knocking right-hander Phil Hughes out of the game after three innings. Hughes (10-8) gave up seven runs on nine hits.
In the three-game series, the Twins' three starting pitchers, right-handers Mike Pelfrey, Ervin Santana and Hughes, had a combined 22.00 ERA, having given up 22 runs in nine innings. The Indians hit .592 (29-for-49) as a team against the Twins' three starters.
Hughes gave up runs in all three innings he pitched. In the first inning shortstop Francisco Lindor reached on an infield single and scored on a double by designated hitter Carlos Santana.
The Indians added two more run in the second. With one out right fielder Jerry Sands singled. First baseman Chris Johnson doubled off the left field wall, the first of his four hits, moving Sands to third. Second baseman Jose Ramirez blooped a single down the left field line, scoring Sands and Johnson and giving Cleveland a 3-0 lead.
The Indians blew it open with a four-run third inning. Lindor led off with a walk and he went to third on a double by left fielder Michael Brantley. A sacrifice fly by Santana scored Lindor to make it 4-0. Catcher Yan Gomes followed with a double to center field scoring Brantley to extend the lead to 5-0.
Center fielder Abraham Almonte then capped the rally with a booming two-run home run over the center field wall, and the Cleveland lead was 7-0. Almonte was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Friday, and in his two games with the Indians he is 5-for-9, with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs.
The Indians added another run in the sixth inning against right-hander Casey Fien. Johnson led off the inning with a double to left field. Johnson went to third on an infield single by Ramirez. A sacrifice fly by Lindor scored Johnson to make it 8-0.
NOTES: OF Abraham Almonte, who was 4-for-5 Friday, is the third player in Indians history to have four hits in his first game with the team, according to Elias. The others were Billy Hunter in 1958 and Kevin Seitzer in 1996. Almonte is the only one whose four hits included a home run. ... Indians OF Michael Brantley, who was hitting .292 at the All-Star break, is hitting .377 (29-for-77) since the break. ... The Twins' 17-4 loss to the Indians Saturday night was the most runs allowed by the Twins since an 18-3 loss to Oakland on Sept. 11, 2003.