Smoke signals
• Indians starter Zach McAllister (right middle finger sprain) played catch at up to 105 feet on Friday and will advance to 120 feet on Sunday. McAllister will then begin a second throwing progression without wearing protective tape on his hand, prior to advancing to throwing off a mound, according to manager Terry Francona. There is still no clear-cut timetable for McAllister's return from the disabled list.
"No, it's probably a little ways away," said Francona, referring to when McAllister might throw off a mound. "Again, this is not something to mess around with. He's got to be completely symptom free when he starts to throw without that tape [on his finger]."
• Entering Saturday's game with the Twins, the Indians' starting rotation had posted a 2.83 ERA (22 earned runs in 70 innings) over the team's past 11 games, dating back to June 9. Over that span, Cleveland lowered its staff ERA to 4.27 from 4.56. The Indians headed into Saturday's action with a 28-14 record in games that included at least six innings logged by the starting pitcher.
• Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis entered Saturday's game having reached base via hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in 23 consecutive games. For the month of June, Kipnis was hitting .355 (22-for-62) with six extra-base hits, seven runs and 12 RBIs through 18 games for the Indians. The second baseman had a .302 average with a .915 OPS in his last 45 games, dating back to May 3. Prior to that stretch, Kipnis hit .189 with a .535 OPS in his first 18 games this season.
• Entering Saturday, the Indians had advanced from first to third base or first to home on a base hit 46 times this season. That was tied with the Tigers for the highest total in the American League. Drew Stubbs was one of the AL leads with nine sprints from first to third or home.The Rangers' Adrian Beltre, the Tigers' Austin Jackson and the Angels' Mike Trout (10 apiece) were tied for the league lead.
• On Saturday, the Indians signed a pair of picks from this year's First-Year Player Draft. Cleveland reached a deal with its fourth-round selection (111th overall) Kyle Crockett, a left-hander out of the University of Virginia, as well as 15th-round pick James Roberts, an infielder out of USC. The Indians have now signed 20 of their 39 Draft picks.