Cleveland, OH – Shelley Duncan drove in three runs to lift 2 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a doubleheader.
Jason Kipnis went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored while Travis Hafner scored twice for the Indians, who have won three straight. David Huff gave up just two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings while Zach Putnam (1-1) grabbed the win for 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Trevor Plouffe went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who have won just one of their last 14 games and two of their last 20. Brian Duensing gave up two runs on three hits over five innings in the start, while Francisco Liriano (9-10) was tagged for five runs while recording just one out in the sixth.
"He felt great out there and that is what was key," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire about Liriano. "We didn't want him out there throwing 50 pitches, but his arm felt great and he felt good so we'll see if we want to get him out there for another inning."
Duncan's two-run double in the first staked Cleveland to a 2-0 lead.
"He's been great for us this past month," said Cleveland manager Manny Acta about Duncan. "With some of the guys gone, he's gotten more opportunities to play and he's taken advantage of it."
The score remained that way until the fourth when Danny Valencia scored on a wild pitch from Huff and Plouffe doubled home Valencia in the sixth to tie the game.
However, Cleveland exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Kipnis and Carlos Santana worked walks to start the inning and Hafner was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Duncan then lofted a sacrifice fly to score the first run and Matt LaPorta followed with an RBI double. Jack Hannahan then singled home a run to chase Liriano from the game.
Jim Hoey then took the mound and gave up an RBI single to Kosuke Fukudome and a two-run single to Kipnis to make it an 8-2 game.
Putnam, who got the final out of the sixth, worked the seventh while Frank Herrmann pitched a perfect two innings to finish the win.
Game Notes
Cleveland has won 10 of the 16 games with Minnesota this season...Cleveland center fielder Trevor Crowe left the game in the second inning with a left shoulder strain and will miss the final four days of the regular season...Minnesota batted 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.
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