Tribe sticks to formula in win over Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- Strong starting pitching paved the way to the top of the American League Central for the Indians in the first half. That continued for Cleveland on Friday night, when the team opened the second half with a 5-2 win over the Twins at Target Field.Right-hander Carlos Carrasco improved
MINNEAPOLIS -- Strong starting pitching paved the way to the top of the American League Central for the Indians in the first half. That continued for Cleveland on Friday night, when the team opened the second half with a 5-2 win over the Twins at Target Field.
Right-hander
"To his credit, he got in a rhythm," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Carrasco. "You look up and it's the seventh inning, and he's held them to two runs and not a lot of hits. That was good."
The Indians now boast the best winning percentage (.596) in the AL, just ahead of the West-leading Rangers (.593).
Dozier's one-out shot in the fourth inning towered down the left-field line and stayed just fair for his team-leading 15th homer of the season. The blast by the Twins' second baseman went 412 feet and had an exit velocity of 106 mph, per Statcast™.
"When you face a guy like Carrasco, you have to capitalize on his mistakes," Dozier said. "He made some mistakes. We just didn't put good swings on them. He throws that changeup 50-70 percent of the time. That's his best pitch, and he threw it a lot tonight, and we kept chasing it."
Minnesota right-hander
"It's tough when you have four days off and you come today and you don't have the same feeling for every pitch," Santana said. "It's a battle, but it's OK. We have more games to go."
Santana exited after Ramirez's second RBI single, a sharp line drive, hit his left wrist on its way into center field. Although there is some swelling in the area, Santana and Twins manager Paul Molitor expect him to be OK.
Indians slugger
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Ramirez rakes with RISP: Heading into Friday's game, Ramirez ranked fourth in the Majors among qualified hitters with a .377 average with runners in scoring position. The high-contact hitter upped that showing to .394 (28-for-71) with two RBI hits. He brought
"He comes up with great at-bats, especially with guys on and in scoring position," Napoli said. "He's been huge for us. He's a guy that's coming through in the clutch." More >
Buxton shows off arm: Twins center fielder
"He saved me on that one," Santana said. "He's very good out there." More >
Dozier does it all: Dozier put on a show with his bat and his glove, driving in both Twins runs and coming up with a diving stop in the eighth to end a threat. Not only did Dozier come through with his fourth-inning homer, but he also contributed a sacrifice fly in the first that brought home
"It's the only [fastball] I saw," Dozier said. "He made some mistakes and left that one middle-in. He made some more, but we just didn't execute on the times when he did make those mistakes."
Gomes' tough luck persists: A few of the Twins' highlight-reel plays came at the expense of Cleveland catcher
"Two were really nice. Short, direct, right to the ball," Francona said of Gomes' swings. "He got nothing to show for it. Hopefully, he can take the fact that, if he swings like that, he's going to be just fine. You have to guard against trying to do more, because he came up empty, but he had much better swings tonight."
QUOTABLE
"Napoli had a good night. He took advantage of a couple of mistakes on sliders, and we just didn't have enough offense. Four hits usually isn't going to get you too many wins." -- Molitor
"We've had guys step up in this lineup. We have a great pitching staff. Everyone wants to talk about the pitching staff, but we've been holding our own as an offense. We've been meshing well together." -- Napoli
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Indians have run to the top of the AL Central largely due to their success within the division. The Twins have given the Tribe some trouble this year, though. While Cleveland has gone 24-7 against the Tigers, Royals and White Sox, the club is just 3-4 vs. Minnesota.
WHAT'S NEXT
Indians: Right-hander
Twins: Right-hander
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Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on Twitter @MLBastian and listen to his podcast.
Do-Hyoung Park is a reporter for MLB.com based in Minneapolis and covered the Twins on Friday.