Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Colabello continued his torrid start to the season by knocking in four more runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 10-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
Colabello finished 2-for-5 and now owns a major league-best 11 RBI through the Twins' first six games. His three-run double off Blake Wood (0-1) in the top of the sixth inning snapped a 6-6 tie and propelled the Twins to a second straight win to close out this three-game series.
Joe Mauer added three hits and two runs scored for Minnesota, while Jason Kubel went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the triumph. Anthony Swarzak (1-0) registered the win despite letting up a pair of runs in just 1 1/3 innings in relief of Ricky Nolasco, tagged for five runs through the first four frames.
The Indians pounded out 15 hits, including four from David Murphy and three by Michael Brantley, but received a subpar start out of Justin Masterson and an even worse outing from Wood in relief.
Minnesota roughed up Masterson for six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings of work, with Wood surrendering three runs in the sixth while recording just two outs.
Jason Kipnis ended 2-for-5 with a three-run double and Yan Gomes belted a two- run homer for Cleveland, which stranded 12 runners on the day.
Colabello's biggest hit came with the bases loaded and the score deadlocked at 6-6 with one out in the sixth. After fouling off a hard fastball from Wood, he drilled the reliever's next offering to the base of the wall in left center to send home Brian Dozier, Mauer and Jason Bartlett -- all of whom either walked or were hit by a pitch from Wood.
"I was just trying to get a ball to the outfield," said Colabello. "In a situation like that, I'm just trying to remind myself that the pitcher's the guy with his back against the wall and not try to do too much and put a good swing on something."
Cleveland closed the gap in the bottom of the frame on consecutive singles by Kipnis, Carlos Santana and Brantley off Swarzak, but relievers Caleb Thielbar, Casey Fien and Jared Burton held the Indians scoreless over the next 2 2/3 innings before Glen Perkins tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to secure his second save of the season.
"Our bullpen came in and what can you say?," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "They got to [Swarzak] a little bit, but for the most part the rest of the guys came in and did what they had to go to get outs -- big outs."
Perkins entered with a 10-7 advantage after Trevor Plouffe walked to begin the ninth and later crossed the plate on Aaron Hicks' sacrifice fly.
Masterson's problems began when he hit Plouffe to start the second inning and served up a double to Kubel in front of Kurt Suzuki's RBI single that opened the scoring. The right-hander prevented major damage by getting Hicks to ground into a double play, though it brought home Kubel for a 2-0 lead.
Gomes pulled Cleveland back even by homering with Brantley aboard in the bottom of the second, but his errant throw to second on Colabello's chopper in front of the plate in the third allowed Dozier to score the go-ahead run. Plouffe and Kubel followed with RBI singles to send Minnesota ahead by a 5-2 count.
"I didn't find the zone very well, and it just continued to be that way," Masterson said. "It seemed like it was one of those days in general, for both sides."
A leadoff walk to Dozier in the fourth put Masterson in a further bind, as Colabello drove him in with a two-out single for a four-run advantage that Nolasco and Swarzak soon failed to hold.
Nolasco issued a pair of two-out walks to load the bases in the Indians' half of the fourth, then surrendered Kipnis' double into the left-field corner that cleared the sacks and brought Cleveland within 6-5. The Tribe tied it an inning later on doubles by Lonnie Chisenhall and Murphy against Swarzak.
Game Notes
Twins left fielder Josh Willingham left the game after 1 1/2 innings after being struck on the left wrist by a Masterson pitch in his lone at-bat ... Minnesota recorded its first series win in Cleveland since Sept. 18-20, 2012 ... Colabello and Plouffe have hit safely in all six games this season, while Brantley owns a six-game streak for Cleveland ... The Indians have failed to score the first run in five of their six games ... Masterson had thrown seven scoreless innings in a no-decision at Oakland on Monday.
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