Minnesota 7, Cleveland 2
When: 2:10 PM ET, Sunday, April 19, 2015
Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature:
58°
Umpires:
Home -
Brian Gorman, 1B -
Mark Carlson, 2B -
Mike DiMuro, 3B -
Tripp Gibson
Attendance:
17923
By The Sports Xchange
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins had their best all-around performance of the young season Sunday in a 7-2 win against the Cleveland Indians in the rubber match of a three-game series at Target Field on Sunday.
Minnesota has won four of its past five after starting the season 1-6. Cleveland has lost six of eight since a 2-1 start.
Right-hander Trevor May got the win, lasting six innings and allowing one run on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
May got plenty of support from his offense, including three hits and two RBIs from center fielder Shane Robinson and a three-run homer by right fielder Torii Hunter that broke the game open in the sixth inning. Seven different Twins players had at least one hit and all nine batters reached base.
The Twins did most of their damage off lefty T.J. House, who struggled in his second start of the season. House lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks, dropping to 0-2.
May allowed five runs in five-plus innings his last time out against Kansas City last Monday, but he was on-point from the start on Sunday. He retired the Indians in order in the first and allowed a lone single through the second.
The Indians strung together three straight singles in the third, the last of which by left fielder Michael Brantley, to scratch out their only run against May.
May retired nine of the final 10 men he faced after that. The lone man to get on base reached on an error by first baseman Joe Mauer with two outs in the sixth.
Minnesota had a pair of three-run innings, including the second, when the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out. Left fielder Oswaldo Arcia had a sacrifice fly to score one, shortstop Eduardo Escobar followed with an RBI single and Robinson reached on fielder's choice and an error that drove in another.
Robinson had an RBI single in the fourth to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead, and Hunter's blast into the left-field seats with two outs in the sixth made it 7-1. The home run was Hunter's first of the season and 193rd in a Twins uniform.
Third baseman Trevor Plouffe also had three hits for Minnesota, including a pair of doubles.
NOTES: Cleveland has gone 25-16 against Minnesota since the start of the 2013 season, including a 13-9 mark at Target Field. ... Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco will go on a rehabilitation assignment on Saturday for Class A Cedar Rapids. Nolasco is on the 15-day disabled list with a sore throwing elbow. ... Twins UT Eduardo Escobar started at shortstop Sunday in place of Danny Santana. It's the first time Santana has not started a game this season. ... The Indians will open a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox on Monday. ... Minnesota will begin a three-game road series against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Cleveland |
|
Minnesota |
T.J. House
|
Player |
Trevor May
|
Loss |
W/L |
Win |
5.2 |
IP |
6.0 |
2 |
Strikeouts |
4 |
7 |
Hits |
4 |
7.94 |
ERA |
1.50 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Cleveland
|
7 |
1 |
10 |
.206 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Minnesota
|
11 |
1 |
16 |
.324 |
19 |
5 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
1 |