Twins continue to give Indians fits
CLEVELAND -- Max Kepler hit his fourth home run in two days and Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar also homered as the Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 10-6 Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
Minnesota led 8-0 after four innings, and Cleveland rallied for a six-run fifth inning, but that was as close as the Indians could get.
Kepler, who hit three home runs in Monday's game, homered in the third inning on Tuesday. He was 1-for-2 with three walks.
The Twins won the first two games of the four-game series, as they continue to give the Indians fits. The American League Central Division-leading Indians are 4-7 vs. the last place Twins, and 26-8 vs. the other three teams in the division.
It was a game in which neither starting pitcher was very good. Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (7-5) gave up eight runs in the third and fourth innings, which put Cleveland into an 8-0 hole.
Twins starter Kyle Gibson, with an eight-run cushion, needed only to get through the fifth inning to qualify for the win, but Gibson couldn't do it. The Indians rallied with a six-run fifth inning, knocking Gibson out of the game. In 4 2/3 innings Gibson gave up six runs and 10 hits.
Having shaved their deficit from eight runs to two, the Indians' attempted comeback stalled there as they were held scoreless in the last four innings by the Minnesota bullpen.
Twins reliever Ryan Pressly (6-5) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to get the win.
Leading 8-6, the Twins added two insurance runs in the ninth inning on a two-run home run by Escobar off Austin Adams.
For the second time in as many nights, the Twins hammered the Indians' starting pitcher. On Monday night, the Twins clobbered Danny Salazar for six runs and six hits in two innings. On Tuesday, Minnesota Carrasco for eight runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Carrasco made it through the first two innings unscathed, but the wheels came off after that. Danny Santana led off the third with a double and Dozier followed with his 20th home run of the season, into the left field bleachers, to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.
Joe Mauer doubled and Kepler, who hit three home runs on Monday night, belted his fourth of the series, into the seats in right field to make it 4-0.
With one out in the fourth, Jorge Polanco doubled and went to third on a single by Santana. Dozier grounded out, but Polanco scored and it was 5-0.
Mauer doubled again, scoring Santana, and Kepler was intentionally walked. Miguel Sano had the Twins' fourth double in two innings, scoring Mauer and Kepler to push the Minnesota lead to 8-0.
Carrasco was removed from the game after Sano's hit. Carrasco threw 92 pitches and allowed eight earned runs, twice as many as he had allowed in any of his first 15 starts of the season.
Meanwhile, Gibson held the Indians scoreless on three hits through the first four innings and then the roof caved in on him in the fifth when he gave up six runs with two runs.
With Abraham Almonte at second with two outs and the Twins leading 8-0, Gibson gave up six consecutive hits: a two-run homer by Carlos Santana, a single and stolen base by Jason Kipnis, an RBI single by Francisco Lindor, a two-run homer by Mike Napoli, a single by Jose Ramirez and an RBI double by Lonnie Chisenhall.
Gibson was removed from the game and an 8-0 Twins lead was down to 8-6.
NOTES: Indians RHP Danny Salazar, who lasted just two innings in his start on Monday, was placed on the disabled list with an inflamed right elbow, which was revealed in an MRI on Tuesday. The Indians say Salazar is expected to be sidelined 2-3 weeks. ... Salazar's roster spot was taken by OF Brandon Guyer, who was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Monday. ... The Indians will recall RHP Mike Clevinger from Triple-A Columbus to assume Salazar's spot in the rotation. Clevinger will start Thursday against the Twins. ... According to Elias, Twins OF Max Kepler on Monday became the first European-born player in history to hit three home runs in a major league game. Kepler was born in Berlin, Germany. ... Also in Monday's game, Twins INF Jorge Polanco became the fourth rookie in Twins history to hit two triples in a game. The others: Jimmie Hall (1963), Matt Tolbert (2008) and Eddie Rosario (2015).