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Minnesota wins fourth straight behind solid Correia

Twins capitalize on Tribe miscues in comeback nearly identical to Friday

MINNEAPOLIS -- Saturday's game was eerily similar to Friday's.

Both ended with exactly the same score and the Twins rallying for comeback victories, with Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall making a crucial error in the sixth inning of both contests.

After winning on Friday, 3-2, the Twins capitalized on a pair of miscues from the Indians in a three-run sixth inning and hung on for another 3-2 victory on Saturday night at Target Field.

"There were a couple plays in that inning they didn't make," said Twins bench coach Terry Steinbach, who filled in as manager with Ron Gardenhire exiting in the fifth because of a stomach illness. "And so tipping our hats to our guys, we were able to take advantage of that. We were able to score that inning and give our bullpen a chance to win that game."

The Twins entered the bottom of the sixth down by two runs, after Jason Kipnis clubbed a two-run homer off right-hander Kevin Correia, but rallied for three runs against reliever Rich Hill to take the lead following Indians starter Corey Kluber's exit. He tossed five scoreless innings before leaving with left hip tightness.

Joe Mauer started it off with a walk, before Justin Morneau singled to right field to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Ryan Doumit then hit a grounder to Chisenhall, who threw home to get Mauer, but the throw was offline and Mauer scored.

"Kind of the rule of thumb is, you don't go on that ball unless you can turn two," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Obviously, we couldn't. Our only play was going to be at first, so I thought we caught a break. He just made a poor throw."

Reliever Bryan Shaw replaced Hill and promptly gave up a single to Chris Colabello, who picked up his first career RBI.

"Obviously it came up in a spot where I could do some damage," said Colabello, who was called up on Friday for his third stint with the Twins this season. "Probably not the way I'd draw it up, but just glad I got it done."

Shaw was able to get Aaron Hicks to strike out swinging for the first out and induced a potential double-play ball from Clete Thomas, but Kipnis bobbled the ball at second base and the go-ahead run scored.

"It picked up a little speed when it hit the dirt and caught me in the palm rather than the hand," Kipnis said. "That play needs to be made."

The three-run rally made a winner out of Correia, who gave up two runs on just three hits and a walk over six innings. It also handed Correia his team-leading 10th quality start of the season and his first win since June 19, to improve to 7-6 with a 4.17 ERA.

"I feel like I've been 6-6 for two months," Correia said. "I thought I might not get it tonight, but then we came back and capitalized and got three runs and it ended up being enough."

Relievers Brian Duensing, Jared Burton, Casey Fien and closer Glen Perkins combined to hold the Indians scoreless over the final three innings to preserve the victory.

The Indians threatened with two runners on and one out against Duensing in the seventh, but Burton came in and ended the threat. Defense also helped Fien in the eighth when Doumit threw Asdrubal Cabrera out at second base as he tried to stretch a single into a double.

"After we made a few roster moves during the break, Doumit knew he was going to play some outfield, so he's been working hard out there," Steinbach said. "For him to play that ball perfectly and not panic and make a real good throw to second was the result of hard work."

Perkins threw a scoreless ninth for his 23rd save and helped the Twins stretch their winning streak to four games. The Twins also clinched the series and improved to 13-15 in one-run games.

"One of the things the guys haven't done all year is give up," Steinbach said. "They go out there as true professionals from the first inning through nine. For the most part, we've given ourselves a chance to win. There were games where we couldn't come through, but there have also been ones where we've come back, and tonight was a good example of that."

Rhett Bollinger is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Bollinger Beat, and follow him on Twitter @RhettBollinger.
Read More: Minnesota Twins, Kevin Correia, Chris Colabello, Glen Perkins