MINNEAPOLIS -- With starting pitchers like Corey Kluber, the Cleveland Indians are on the verge of a playoff berth. Starting pitching is a big reason the Minnesota Twins are finishing off another long summer.

Kluber continued his strong second half run with seven effective innings and Carlos Santana hit a three-run home run to lead Cleveland to a 7-1 win against Minnesota on Sunday. Kluber (16-9) topped 200 strikeouts for the third straight season in striking out 10 Twins' hitters.

"I think he's kind of earned that because of the way he's handled himself and the way he's ready every five days," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Kluber. "It is a good feeling."

Santana's 31st homer of the season went deep into the right-field plaza at Target Field to open the scoring in the second inning off Minnesota rookie starter Jose Berrios (2-6).

Abraham Almonte added three hits and two runs scored for Cleveland, which won for the fourth time in five games and extended its lead in the American League Central to seven games over Detroit.

"I don't think we're to the point of worrying about that yet," Kluber said of the lead over the Tigers. "I think if we do start getting ahead of ourselves, it opens the door for dangerous things to happen."

Berrios' 11th major-league start went much like his first several outings with wildness marking the occasion. Berrios walked four batters and had an error on a pickoff attempt. He gave up five runs -- three earned -- in 2 2/3 innings as Minnesota lost for the sixth time in eight games. The Twins are 13-25 in August and September after posting their lone winning month of the season in July (15-11).

"Obviously that's the plan, to go out there and be as good as I've been in the minors," Berrios said. "And that's what I want to do, but it hasn't worked out for me that way."

Kluber was in control throughout.

The right-hander gave up four hits and surrendered just one unearned run in the fourth as Byron Buxton singled home Eduardo Escobar, after an error on third baseman Jose Ramirez put runners at second and third with two outs.

Kluber was coming off a four-run loss to the Houston Astros in his last outing. But the former Cy Young Award winner is 7-1 with a 2.14 ERA (18 earned runs in 75 2/3 innings) since the All-Star break. He entered the game with the fifth-lowest ERA in the majors since the All-Star break.

"You watch him and how he works, and the focus he has with each pitch," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of Kluber. "He slows the game down. I don't think he made many mistakes. We had trouble from the left side with the cutters in and the righties, throwing that slider and plenty of velocity to back it up. Just a polished outing for him, going deep, 110-plus pitches, gave them an opportunity to come back and win the series."

Berrios has done the opposite in his short time in the majors. The 2 2/3 innings were his third shortest major-league outing and marked the fifth time he's passed out four walks. He left after striking out Almonte in the third with 65 pitches, just 30 for strikes, and left Molitor wondering about his status for the rest of this season.

"The hype is there and the talent is there," Molitor said of the 22-year-old Berrios. "It's just not that easy. We're going to talk a little bit about how we want to proceed with the rest of his year. I think it probably would be open for debate how much we want to run him out there in these starts after another rough one today. I still believe it's there. It just hasn't happened up here very consistently, yet."

Left-hander Pat Dean relieved Berrios but gave up Tyler Naquin's two-out single. Naquin had two hits and two walks.

Santana extended his career high for homers in the second inning. Almonte scored in the seventh on Roberto Perez's triple to deep center which evaded the diving Buxton.

Minnesota committed four errors in the game, including one on Mike Napoli's high pop-up near the pitching mound which was missed by Escobar.

Buxton had two hits for the Twins and is hitting .405 (15-for-37) since being recalled on Sept. 1.

NOTES: Twins 1B Joe Mauer is still dealing with quad soreness, Molitor said. Mauer was out of the starting lineup on Sunday and replaced by James Beresford. ... Cleveland recalled 1B Jesus Aguilar and LHP Ryan Merritt from Triple-A Columbus. Aguilar hit .247 with 30 home runs and 92 RBIs in 137 games for Columbus. Merritt was 11-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 24 starts. ... Francona announced RHP Josh Tomlin will start Wednesday's game at the Chicago White Sox in place of Danny Salazar, who is dealing with a forearm injury. RHP Mike Clevinger will start Thursday. ... Twins 3B Miguel Sano was out of the starting lineup on Sunday with an .063 average (1-for-16) in his career against Kluber.