GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (62-47) at MINNESOTA (55-53)

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 x 3 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - AARON LAFFEY, JENSEN LEWIS (6TH), TOM MASTNY (8TH) AND VICTOR
MARTINEZ

MIN - MATT GARZA, RAMON ORTIZ (5TH), DENNYS REYES
(7TH), MATT GUERRIER (7TH), JOE NATHAN (9TH) AND MIKE REDMOND

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

MIN - NONE</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 x 3 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - AARON LAFFEY, JENSEN LEWIS (6TH), TOM MASTNY (8TH) AND VICTOR
MARTINEZ

MIN - MATT GARZA, RAMON ORTIZ (5TH), DENNYS REYES
(7TH), MATT GUERRIER (7TH), JOE NATHAN (9TH) AND MIKE REDMOND


WP - RAMON ORTIZ (4-4)
LP - AARON LAFFEY (0-1)
SAVE - JOE NATHAN (25)

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

MIN - NONE


TIME: 2:45 ATT: 33,663

PROBABLES: CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA (13-5, 3.27)
MIN - SCOTT BAKER (5-4, 4.88)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (2) VS MINNESOTA (3) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 .283
K Lofton lf 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .299
C Blake 3b 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .267
V Martinez c 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .304
T Hafner dh 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .252
R Garko 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .312
T Nixon rf 4 0 2 0 0 2 4 .257
J Michaels pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
J Peralta ss 4 1 2 0 0 1 3 .278
J Barfield 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .250
a-F Gutierrez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .298
M Rouse 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .119

Totals 34 2 9 2 2 8 19

a-lined out to shortstop for J Barfield in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - V Martinez (29, M Garza). SF - C Blake. RBI - V Martinez (80), C
Blake (54). 2-out RBI - V Martinez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - V
Martinez 1, T Nixon 2, J Barfield 2. Team LOB - 10.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - K Lofton (M Cuddyer at 3rd base). DP: 2 (J
Peralta-R Garko, J Peralta-M Rouse-R Garko).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner lf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .277
J Bartlett ss 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .263
J Mauer dh 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 .301
M Cuddyer rf 3 0 1 2 0 0 1 .292
J Morneau 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .291
T Hunter cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .291
M Redmond c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
B Buscher 3b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .294
N Punto pr-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
A Casilla 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250

Totals 28 3 8 3 1 2 8

BATTING: 2B - J Bartlett (15, A Laffey); M Cuddyer (19, A Laffey); T Hunter
(30, A Laffey). RBI - J Mauer (47), M Cuddyer 2 (58). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Casilla 1. GIDP - J Mauer 2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: CS - J Tyner (3, 2nd base by A Laffey/V Martinez).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Bartlett-J Morneau).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 001 100 000 -- 2
MINNESOTA - 000 201 00x -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
A Laffey (L, 0-1) 5 1/3 6 3 3 1 1 0 5.06
J Lewis 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.48
T Mastny 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.60

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
M Garza 4 6 2 2 2 5 0 1.78
R Ortiz (W, 4-4) 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 5.09
D Reyes (H, 10) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.76
M Guerrier (H, 9) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.71
J Nathan (S, 25) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.98

IBB - T Hafner (by M Garza). BALK - A Laffey. HBP - T Hafner (by M Garza); R
Garko (by M Garza); J Tyner (by A Laffey). Pitches-strikes: A Laffey 82-56; J
Lewis 20-13; T Mastny 15-10; M Garza 93-55; R Ortiz 29-20; D Reyes 9-6; M
Guerrier 14-9; J Nathan 13-7. Ground balls-fly balls: A Laffey 10-3; J Lewis
2-2; T Mastny 2-1; M Garza 1-6; R Ortiz 2-3; D Reyes 1-0; M Guerrier 1-1; J
Nathan 1-2. Batters faced: A Laffey 21; J Lewis 6; T Mastny 3; M Garza 22; R
Ortiz 8; D Reyes 2; M Guerrier 4; J Nathan 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ron Kulpa. 1B--Paul Emmel. 2B--Dan Iassogna. 3B--Dale Scott.

T--2:45. Att--33,663.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 2
MINNESOTA 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (2) AT MINNESOTA (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 3RD: G Sizemore struck out swinging. K Lofton singled to center.
C Blake fouled out to first. V Martinez doubled to deep right, K Lofton
scored. T Hafner intentionally walked. R Garko hit by pitch, V Martinez to
third, T Hafner to second. T Nixon struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta singled to center. J Barfield struck out
swinging. G Sizemore singled to right, J Peralta to second. K Lofton walked,
J Peralta to third, G Sizemore to second. C Blake hit sacrifice fly to right,
J Peralta scored, G Sizemore to third. V Martinez popped out to second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Tyner grounded out to shortstop. J Bartlett hit a ground
rule double to deep left. J Mauer reached on infield single to second,
J Bartlett scored. M Cuddyer doubled to deep left, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer
thrown out at third attempting to advance on play. J Morneau popped out to
second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Tyner hit by pitch. J Tyner to second on balk by
A Laffey. J Bartlett popped out to second. J Mauer singled to left, J Tyner
to third. J Lewis relieved A Laffey. M Cuddyer grounded into fielder's choice
to third, J Tyner scored, J Mauer out at second. J Morneau struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (2) AT MINNESOTA (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, K Lofton LF, C Blake 3B,
V Martinez C, T Hafner DH, R Garko 1B, T Nixon RF, J Peralta SS, J Barfield 2B,
A Laffey LHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- J Tyner LF, J Bartlett SS, J Mauer DH, M Cuddyer RF,
J Morneau 1B, T Hunter CF, M Redmond C, B Buscher 3B, A Casilla 2B, M Garza RHP.

Umpires -- Ron Kulpa (HP), Paul Emmel (1B), Dan Iassogna (2B), Dale Scott (3B).


Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore struck out swinging. K Lofton popped out to
shortstop. C Blake singled to left. V Martinez flied out to left. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: J Tyner singled to center. J Tyner caught stealing second,
catcher to second. J Bartlett walked. J Mauer grounded into double play,
shortstop to first, J Bartlett out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: T Hafner hit by pitch. R Garko fouled out to first.
T Nixon struck out swinging. J Peralta reached on infield single to third,
T Hafner to second. J Barfield grounded into fielder's choice to third,
T Hafner out at third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Cuddyer grounded out to second. J Morneau grounded out
to first. T Hunter grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: G Sizemore struck out swinging. K Lofton singled to center.
C Blake fouled out to first. V Martinez doubled to deep right, K Lofton
scored. T Hafner intentionally walked. R Garko hit by pitch, V Martinez to
third, T Hafner to second. T Nixon struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 3RD: M Redmond grounded out to second. B Buscher struck out
swinging. A Casilla grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta singled to center. J Barfield struck out
swinging. G Sizemore singled to right, J Peralta to second. K Lofton walked,
J Peralta to third, G Sizemore to second. C Blake hit sacrifice fly to right,
J Peralta scored, G Sizemore to third. V Martinez popped out to second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Tyner grounded out to shortstop. J Bartlett hit a ground
rule double to deep left. J Mauer reached on infield single to second,
J Bartlett scored. M Cuddyer doubled to deep left, J Mauer scored, M Cuddyer
thrown out at third attempting to advance on play. J Morneau popped out to
second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 5TH: R Ortiz relieved M Garza. T Hafner flied out to left.
R Garko singled to center. T Nixon singled to center, R Garko to second.
J Peralta struck out swinging. J Barfield flied out to center. (0 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 5TH: T Hunter doubled to deep left. M Redmond grounded out to
shortstop. B Buscher grounded out to second, T Hunter to third. A Casilla
popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: G Sizemore grounded out to second. K Lofton flied out to
left. C Blake grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Tyner hit by pitch. J Tyner to second on balk by
A Laffey. J Bartlett popped out to second. J Mauer singled to left, J Tyner
to third. J Lewis relieved A Laffey. M Cuddyer grounded into fielder's choice
to third, J Tyner scored, J Mauer out at second. J Morneau struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CLEVELAND 7TH: D Reyes relieved R Ortiz. V Martinez struck out swinging.
T Hafner grounded out to shortstop. M Guerrier relieved D Reyes. R Garko
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 7TH: T Hunter popped out to second. M Redmond grounded out to
third. B Buscher singled to left center. N Punto ran for B Buscher. A Casilla
flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CLEVELAND 8TH: N Punto at third base. T Nixon singled to right center.
J Michaels ran for T Nixon. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to third,
J Michaels out at second. F Gutierrez hit for J Barfield. F Gutierrez lined
into double play, shortstop to first, J Peralta doubled off first. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 8TH: J Michaels in right field. M Rouse at second base. T Mastny
relieved J Lewis. J Tyner lined out to shortstop. J Bartlett singled to
center. J Mauer grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
J Bartlett out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.

CLEVELAND 9TH: J Nathan relieved M Guerrier. G Sizemore fouled out to
third. K Lofton grounded out to second. C Blake flied out to center. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 3.</div>

 

Tyner takes one for the team, leads Twins to win

<h3>MINNESOTA 3, CLEVELAND 2</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Another bruise for Jason Tyner led toanother victory for the Minnesota Twins.


Tyner was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning and went on toscore what proved to be the winning run as the Twins posted a3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

With the game tied at 2-2, Tyner was hit by Cleveland starterAaron Laffey (0-1) to lead off the sixth, advanced on a balk andmoved to third on a single by Joe Mauer. Michael Cuddyer, whofinished with two RBI, plated the go-ahead run with a groundoutagainst Jensen Lewis, who relieved Laffey.


It was the second time in less than a week that Tyner helpedMinnesota to a win by getting hit by a pitch. On Sunday, Tynerwas hit by a pitch to spark a three-run inning that led to a 4-1win over Cleveland.


A big reason for Saturday's triumph was the Twins' bullpen,which held the Indians to just three hits in the final fiveinnings in relief of Matt Garza.


In just the second game since a bridge on the 35W Interstatesuddenly collapsed on Wednesday, killing seven and injuringdozens more, the Twins helped put a smile on the faces of thepeople of Minnesota for one day.


Ramon Ortiz (4-4) pitched two innings of scoreless relief toearn his first win defeating Seattle on April 17, when he wasstill a member of the starting rotation. He entered Saturday'scontest in the fifth inning in relief of Garza, whose last startcoincided with Tyner's aforementioned hit-by-pitch courtesy ofC.C. Sabathia.


Garza struck out a career-high 11 in his previous outing againstthe Indians while allowing just one run in six innings. But hewas in trouble in each of the four innings he pitched in thisone.


Garza threw 93 pitches but allowed only two runs and six hitswhile stranding eight baserunners. While Garza was battling,Laffey appeared to be on cruise control.


Making his major league debut, Laffey faced the minimum through3 1/3 innings. But things quickly unraveled.


Jason Bartlett hit a one-out, ground-rule double, then scoredwhen Josh Barfield failed to make a backhand stop of Mauer'sgrounder up the middle. Cuddyer followed with a double, platingMauer and erasing the 2-0 lead the Indians built against Garza.

Laffey surrendered three runs and six hits with a walk and astrikeout in 5 1/3 innings.


Garza stranded Casey Blake in the first inning and two morerunners in the second after a hit batter and a walk. Clevelandfinally broke through in the third inning when Kenny Lofton hita one-out single and scored on Victor Martinez's two-out doubleoff the baggie in right field.


Travis Hafner was walked intentionally and Ryan Garko was hit bya pitch, loading the bases. But Garza struck out Trot Nixon toget out of the jam.


Jhonny Peralta singled and scored in the fourth on Blake'ssacrifice fly, but Garza got Martinez to end the inning on apop-up to second base with runners on the corners.

Minnesota's bullpen picked up Garza from there, with Ortiz,Dennys Reyes and Matt Guerrier combining for four scorelessframes and Joe Nathan tossing a perfect ninth to notch his 25thsave in 27 chances.


Bartlett and Mauer both finished with two hits for Minnesota,with Bartlett extending his hitting streak to seven games.

Grady Sizemore singled in the fourth inning to extend hishitting streak to 12 games for Cleveland (62-48), which fellinto a tie with Detroit (61-47) for first place in the AmericanLeague Central Division. The Tigers host the Chicago White Soxon Saturday evening.


Nixon and Peralta had two hits apiece for the Indians, who lostfor the first time in four games at the Metrodome this season.

 

Tyner takes one for the team, leads Twins to win

<h3>MINNESOTA 3, CLEVELAND 2</h3>By Anthony Maggio
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Another bruise for Jason Tyner led toanother victory for the Minnesota Twins.


Tyner was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning and went on toscore what proved to be the winning run as the Twins posted a3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

With the game tied at 2-2, Tyner was hit by Cleveland rookiestarter Aaron Laffey (0-1) to lead off the sixth, advanced on abalk and moved to third on a single by Joe Mauer. MichaelCuddyer, who finished with two RBI, plated the go-ahead run witha groundout against Jensen Lewis, who relieved Laffey.

"You're just trying to get on base any way you can," Tyner said."If they want to give you a free base, you'll definitely takeit."


It was the second time in less than a week Tyner helpedMinnesota to a win by getting hit by a pitch. On Sunday, Tynerwas hit by a pitch to spark a three-run inning that led to a 4-1win over Cleveland.


"That's not exactly on my stat pack," Twins manager RonGardenhire said. "But if you like that stuff, I like it, too."

A big reason for Saturday's triumph was the Twins' bullpen,which held the Indians to just three hits in the final fiveinnings in relief of Matt Garza.


In just the second game since a bridge on the 35W Interstatesuddenly collapsed on Wednesday, killing seven and injuringdozens more, the Twins helped put smiles on the faces of thepeople of Minnesota for one day.


Ramon Ortiz (4-4) pitched two innings of scoreless relief toearn his first win since defeating Seattle on April 17, when hewas still a member of the starting rotation. He enteredSaturday's contest in the fifth inning in relief of Garza, whoselast start coincided with Tyner's aforementioned hit-by-pitchcourtesy of C.C. Sabathia.


Garza, who struck out a career-high 11 in his previous outingagainst the Indians while allowing just one run in six innings,was in trouble in each of the four frames he pitched in thisone.


Garza threw 93 pitches but allowed only two runs and six hitswhile stranding eight baserunners.


"I got lucky," Garza said. "I was able to wiggle out of sometight spots. I loaded the bases in consecutive innings. Ithrew way too many pitches. I was just trying to battle andkeep my team in it."


While Garza was battling, Laffey appeared to be on cruisecontrol.


Making his major league debut, Laffey faced the minimum through3 1/3 innings. But things quickly unraveled.


Jason Bartlett hit a one-out, ground-rule double, then scoredwhen Josh Barfield failed to make a backhand stop of Mauer'sgrounder up the middle. Cuddyer followed with a double, platingMauer and erasing the 2-0 lead the Indians built against Garza.

Laffey surrendered three runs and six hits with a walk and astrikeout in 5 1/3 innings.


"He threw the ball well today," Indians manager Eric Wedge said."He did a great job for his first time out. He gave us everyopportunity to win the ballgame. We weren't able to get the hitwhen we needed to."


Garza stranded Casey Blake in the first inning and two morerunners in the second after a hit batsman and a walk. Clevelandfinally broke through in the third inning, when Kenny Loftonhit a one-out single and scored on Victor Martinez's two-outdouble off the baggie in right field.


Travis Hafner was walked intentionally and Ryan Garko was hit bya pitch, loading the bases. But Garza struck out Trot Nixon toget out of the jam.


"We made him work," Wedge said. "We created plenty ofopportunities, we just weren't able to finish innings off."

Jhonny Peralta singled and scored in the fourth on Blake'ssacrifice fly, but Garza got Martinez to end the inning on apop-up to second base with runners on the corners.

"I thought it had a chance to get over (right fielder Cuddyer's)head or up off the baggie, but he made a good catch out there,"Blake said of his sacrifice fly. "That might have been the one.A single or double there would've made a heck of adifference."


"That was the play of the game," Gardenhire said. "He goes backand keeps us from having those guys spinning the basepaths."

Minnesota's bullpen picked up Garza from there, with Ortiz,Dennys Reyes and Matt Guerrier combining for four scorelessframes and Joe Nathan tossing a perfect ninth to notch his 25thsave in 27 chances.


Bartlett and Mauer both finished with two hits for Minnesota,with Bartlett extending his hitting streak to seven games.

Grady Sizemore singled in the fourth inning to extend hishitting streak to 12 games for Cleveland (62-48), which fellinto a tie with Detroit (61-47) for first place in the AmericanLeague Central Division. The Tigers host the Chicago White Soxon Saturday evening.


Nixon and Peralta had two hits apiece for the Indians, who lostfor the first time in four games at the Metrodome this season.