Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Shelley Duncan drove in three runs to lift
the Cleveland Indians to an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of
a doubleheader.
Jason Kipnis went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored while Travis Hafner
scored twice for the Indians, who have won three straight. David Huff gave up
just two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings while
Zach Putnam (1-1) grabbed the win for 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Trevor Plouffe went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who have won just one
of their last 14 games and two of their last 20. Brian Duensing gave up two
runs on three hits over five innings in the start, while Francisco Liriano
(9-10) was tagged for five runs while recording just one out in the sixth.
Duncan's two-run double in the first staked Cleveland to a 2-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the fourth when Danny Valencia scored on a
wild pitch from Huff and Plouffe doubled home Valencia in the sixth to tie the
game.
However, Cleveland exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Kipnis and Carlos Santana worked walks to start the inning and Hafner was hit
by a pitch to load the bases. Duncan then lofted a sacrifice fly to score the
first run and Matt LaPorta followed with an RBI double. Jack Hannahan then
singled home a run to chase Liriano from the game.
Jim Hoey then took the mound and gave up an RBI single to Kosuke Fukudome and
a two-run single to Kipnis to make it an 8-2 game.
Putnam, who got the final out of the sixth, worked the seventh while Frank
Herrmann pitched a perfect two innings to finish the win.
Game Notes
Cleveland has won 10 of the 16 games with Minnesota this season...Cleveland
center fielder Trevor Crowe left the game in the second inning with an
undisclosed injury...Minnesota batted 0-for-11 with runners in scoring
position and left eight men on base.
The Sports Network