Ben Revere had three hits on Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field, and he played a role in all three Minnesota runs as the Twins won the rubber game of their three-game set with the Cleveland Indians by a score of 3-2 in ten innings.
The victory was the sixth in the last seven games for Minnesota, and the loss was the sixth out of the last seven games for the Indians as well. Minnesota's deficit in the American League Central is now 11.5 games. . .which doesn't sound terribly impressive, but considering that at this time last week it was 16.5 games, it's progress.
The Twins took the lead in the top of the third inning, thanks to Revere's two-out single that scored Luke Hughes from second base and gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The Twins followed that up by adding another run in the top of the sixth. Revere singled and stole second to lead off the inning, and after a couple of ground outs, Justin Morneau's two-out double brought Revere in to score and gave the Twins a 2-0 lead.
Twins' starter Carl Pavano had been cruising until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Indians' outfielder Grady Sizemore led things off with a home run to cut Minnesota's lead to 2-1. Pavano pitched well on the day, scattering seven hits in seven innings on work, and allowing just that one run. Jose Mijares came in and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Matt Capps came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth.
Capps quickly got the first two outs, and then faced Cleveland third baseman Jack Hannahan. The left-handed hitter got a hold of an offering from Capps and deposited it over the center field wall for a solo home run to tie the game at two. The blown save for Capps was his fifth of the season, and relegated Pavano to a no-decision rather than a victory.
Undeterred, the Twins took the lead back in the top of the tenth inning, as the team came through with two outs again. Indians' closer Chris Perez entered the game in the top of the inning, and after quickly retiring Luke Hughes and Matt Tolbert, Drew Butera doubled to left field. Revere stepped to the plate one more time, and came through again with a single to left that allowed Butera to score and give the Twins the lead back at 3-2.
Phil Dumatrait came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth for Minnesota, and though he gave up a two-out double to Carlos Santana, managed to make the lead stand up as he retired Shin-Soo Choo on a comebacker to end the ball game. The save for Dumatrait was the first of his Major League career.
Capps was credited with the win after blowing the save for the Twins in the ninth. His record on the season is now 2-3. Perez took the loss for the Indians, dropping his record on the season to 2-2.
Now that their ten-game road trip has concluded, the Twins will return to Target Field tomorrow to kick off a ten-game homestand with a four-game set against the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers. First pitch for Thursday night is scheduled for 7:10 PM Central. Minnesota will send Nick Blackburn (5-4, 3.57 ERA) to the mound, while the Rangers will turn to left-hander Derek Holland (5-1, 4.36 ERA).
The victory was the sixth in the last seven games for Minnesota, and the loss was the sixth out of the last seven games for the Indians as well. Minnesota's deficit in the American League Central is now 11.5 games. . .which doesn't sound terribly impressive, but considering that at this time last week it was 16.5 games, it's progress.
The Twins took the lead in the top of the third inning, thanks to Revere's two-out single that scored Luke Hughes from second base and gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The Twins followed that up by adding another run in the top of the sixth. Revere singled and stole second to lead off the inning, and after a couple of ground outs, Justin Morneau's two-out double brought Revere in to score and gave the Twins a 2-0 lead.
Twins' starter Carl Pavano had been cruising until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Indians' outfielder Grady Sizemore led things off with a home run to cut Minnesota's lead to 2-1. Pavano pitched well on the day, scattering seven hits in seven innings on work, and allowing just that one run. Jose Mijares came in and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Matt Capps came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth.
Capps quickly got the first two outs, and then faced Cleveland third baseman Jack Hannahan. The left-handed hitter got a hold of an offering from Capps and deposited it over the center field wall for a solo home run to tie the game at two. The blown save for Capps was his fifth of the season, and relegated Pavano to a no-decision rather than a victory.
Undeterred, the Twins took the lead back in the top of the tenth inning, as the team came through with two outs again. Indians' closer Chris Perez entered the game in the top of the inning, and after quickly retiring Luke Hughes and Matt Tolbert, Drew Butera doubled to left field. Revere stepped to the plate one more time, and came through again with a single to left that allowed Butera to score and give the Twins the lead back at 3-2.
Phil Dumatrait came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth for Minnesota, and though he gave up a two-out double to Carlos Santana, managed to make the lead stand up as he retired Shin-Soo Choo on a comebacker to end the ball game. The save for Dumatrait was the first of his Major League career.
Capps was credited with the win after blowing the save for the Twins in the ninth. His record on the season is now 2-3. Perez took the loss for the Indians, dropping his record on the season to 2-2.
Now that their ten-game road trip has concluded, the Twins will return to Target Field tomorrow to kick off a ten-game homestand with a four-game set against the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers. First pitch for Thursday night is scheduled for 7:10 PM Central. Minnesota will send Nick Blackburn (5-4, 3.57 ERA) to the mound, while the Rangers will turn to left-hander Derek Holland (5-1, 4.36 ERA).
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