GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (78-58) at MINNESOTA (69-68)

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (5) VS MINNESOTA (0) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Lofton cf-lf 4 1 2 0 1 0 1 .301
A Cabrera ss-2b 4 1 1 0 1 1 3 .301
T Hafner dh 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
V Martinez c 2 1 0 1 1 1 2 .303
R Garko 1b 4 1 2 1 0 0 3 .299
F Gutierrez lf-rf 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 .275
C Gomez 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .315
G Sizemore pr-cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277
C Blake 3b 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 .263
B Francisco rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .277
J Peralta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .271

Totals 33 5 9 5 4 4 17

BATTING: 2B - B Francisco (4, J Santana); T Hafner (19, M Guerrier); G Sizemore
(29, J Rincon). HR - R Garko (15, 5th inning off J Santana 0 on, 2 Out). SF - V
Martinez , F Gutierrez. RBI - V Martinez (97), B Francisco (8), F Gutierrez
(27), R Garko (51), T Hafner (80). 2-out RBI - R Garko. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Peralta 1, F Gutierrez 1, R Garko 1, A Cabrera 1. GIDP - B
Francisco, A Cabrera. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (A Cabrera-C Gomez-R Garko).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Casilla 2b 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 .250
J Bartlett ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .275
T Hunter cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .291
J Morneau 1b 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 .279
M Cuddyer rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .277
M Redmond c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .295
R White dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .148
J Tyner lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .290
N Punto 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .198

Totals 32 0 6 0 2 8 13

BATTING: 2B - A Casilla (5, C Sabathia). Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - M Cuddyer 1, R White 1, T Hunter 1. GIDP - R White. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - J Bartlett (24, catch). DP: 2 (N Punto-A Casilla-J Morneau, J
Bartlett-A Casilla-J Morneau).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 111 010 100 -- 5
MINNESOTA - 000 000 000 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Sabathia (W, 16-7) 8 6 0 0 1 6 0 3.24
R Perez 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.61

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
J Santana (L, 14-11) 6 6 4 4 3 3 1 3.15
M Guerrier 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2.25
J Rincon 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.58
N Blackburn 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Pitches-strikes: C Sabathia 100-70; R Perez 17-10; J Santana 105-73; M
Guerrier 26-15; J Rincon 16-9; N Blackburn 6-4. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Sabathia 12-6; R Perez 1-0; J Santana 6-10; M Guerrier 0-2; J Rincon 0-3; N
Blackburn 2-1. Batters faced: C Sabathia 30; R Perez 4; J Santana 27; M
Guerrier 5; J Rincon 4; N Blackburn 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Angel Hernandez. 1B--Ted Barrett. 2B--James Hoye. 3B--Mark
Carlson.

T--2:40. Att--24,105.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 5
MINNESOTA 0 FINAL</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (5) AT MINNESOTA (0) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 1ST: K Lofton walked. A Cabrera singled to left, K Lofton to
second. T Hafner grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, K Lofton to third,
A Cabrera safe at second on error by shortstop J Bartlett. V Martinez hit
sacrifice fly to right, K Lofton scored, A Cabrera to third. R Garko popped
out to catcher. F Gutierrez flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: C Gomez flied out to center. C Blake walked. B Francisco
doubled to deep center, C Blake scored. K Lofton flied out to left. A Cabrera
grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner flied out to left. V Martinez walked. R Garko
singled to right, V Martinez to third. F Gutierrez hit sacrifice fly to
center, V Martinez scored. C Gomez struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez grounded out to
third. R Garko homered to left. F Gutierrez grounded out to third. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 7TH: M Guerrier relieved J Santana. K Lofton lined out to right.
A Cabrera walked. T Hafner doubled to center, A Cabrera scored. V Martinez
struck out swinging. R Garko popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (5) AT MINNESOTA (0) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- K Lofton CF, A Cabrera SS, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, F Gutierrez LF, C Gomez 2B, C Blake 3B, B Francisco RF,
C Sabathia LHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- A Casilla 2B, J Bartlett SS, T Hunter CF,
J Morneau 1B, M Cuddyer RF, M Redmond C, R White DH, J Tyner LF, N Punto 3B,
J Santana LHP.

Umpires -- Angel Hernandez (HP), Ted Barrett (1B), James Hoye (2B),
Mark Carlson (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CLEVELAND 1ST: K Lofton walked. A Cabrera singled to left, K Lofton to
second. T Hafner grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, K Lofton to third,
A Cabrera safe at second on error by shortstop J Bartlett. V Martinez hit
sacrifice fly to right, K Lofton scored, A Cabrera to third. R Garko popped
out to catcher. F Gutierrez flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: A Casilla doubled to deep center. J Bartlett struck out
swinging. T Hunter grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A Casilla out
at third. J Morneau singled to right center, T Hunter to third. M Cuddyer
popped out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: C Gomez flied out to center. C Blake walked. B Francisco
doubled to deep center, C Blake scored. K Lofton flied out to left. A Cabrera
grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Redmond flied out to right. R White grounded out to
third. J Tyner struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner flied out to left. V Martinez walked. R Garko
singled to right, V Martinez to third. F Gutierrez hit sacrifice fly to
center, V Martinez scored. C Gomez struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 3RD: N Punto struck out looking. A Casilla reached on infield
single to third. J Bartlett grounded out to shortstop, A Casilla to second.
T Hunter grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: C Blake struck out swinging. B Francisco flied out to
right. K Lofton singled to left. A Cabrera struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Morneau walked. M Cuddyer struck out swinging. M Redmond
singled to right center, J Morneau to second. R White grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, M Redmond out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez grounded out to
third. R Garko homered to left. F Gutierrez grounded out to third. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Tyner grounded out to first. N Punto struck out looking.
A Casilla singled to center. J Bartlett grounded into fielder's choice to
third, A Casilla out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 6TH: C Gomez singled to center. G Sizemore ran for C Gomez.
C Blake fouled out to catcher. B Francisco grounded into double play, third
to second to first, G Sizemore out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 4, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 6TH: K Lofton in left field. A Cabrera at second base.
F Gutierrez in right field. G Sizemore in center field. J Peralta at shortstop.
T Hunter grounded out to third. J Morneau fouled out to third. M Cuddyer
grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 7TH: M Guerrier relieved J Santana. K Lofton lined out to right.
A Cabrera walked. T Hafner doubled to center, A Cabrera scored. V Martinez
struck out swinging. R Garko popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 7TH: M Redmond fouled out to right. R White struck out swinging.
J Tyner flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Rincon relieved M Guerrier. F Gutierrez flied out to
center. G Sizemore doubled to right. C Blake flied out to left. J Peralta
flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 8TH: N Punto grounded out to shortstop. A Casilla singled to
center. J Bartlett flied out to right. T Hunter grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, A Casilla out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 9TH: N Blackburn relieved J Rincon. K Lofton reached on infield
single to second. A Cabrera grounded into double play, shortstop to second to
first, K Lofton out at second. T Hafner flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 9TH: R Perez relieved C Sabathia. J Morneau walked. M Cuddyer
struck out swinging. M Redmond grounded out to second, J Morneau to second.
R White struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0.</div>

 

Sabathia outduels Santana for second time in five days

<h3>CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0</h3>By Brian Hall
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- If the Cleveland Indians hold on in theAmerican League Central, C.C. Sabathia will have had a big sayin the title-winning effort.


Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings and beat reigning CyYoung winner Johan Santana for the second time in five days inthe Indians' 5-0 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

The win puts Cleveland (79-58) six games up on idle Detroit(73-64) and a full 10 games clear of Minnesota (69-69). Thesetwo teams met last week in Cleveland and the Twins had aseason-high five-game winning streak going in. But the Indianspromptly swept Minnesota in three games with Sabathia gettingthe win in the finale.


Sabathia (16-7) allowed just six hits and a walk with sixstrikeouts to run his record to 4-1 against the Twins thisseason with a 1.93 ERA. He has allowed two earned runs or fewerin his last nine starts overall.


Cleveland gave him all the run support he needed early as theIndians scored once in each of the first three innings againstSantana, and four of the first five. They also got a hit ineach of the first six innings against the lefthander, whoallowed four runs and 10 hits in six frames in his last matchupwith Sabathia.


Santana wasn't sharp giving up three walks and hisleague-leading 30th home run of the season, a solo shot by RyanGarko in the fifth. But, the lefthander was also undone by somesloppy play by shortstop Jason Bartlett.


After Kenny Lofton started the game with a walk, Santana gotAsdrubal Cabrera on a comebacker. He threw to Bartlett, whodropped a potential double-play opportunity. Lofton ended upscoring on a sacrifice fly by Victor Martinez.


The next inning, Bartlett bobbled a throw from center fielderTorii Hunter and subsequently couldn't make a relay throw tohome to try and get Casey Blake, who scored on the play.

In the third, Bartlett cut off a throw from right fielderMichael Cuddyer, which had the chance at getting Martinez goingfrom first to third on a Garko single. Martinez later scored ona sacrifice fly by Franklin Gutierrez.


Santana (14-11), losing to Cleveland for the second time in fivedays, went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Headded three strikeouts.


The Twins didn't get their ace lefthander the same run support.Minnesota's only runner to reach third base was Hunter in thefirst inning.


The lone bright spot was second baseman Alexi Casilla's firstcareer four-hit game. However, Casilla was stranded each time,twice at second base.


A day after scoring a single eighth-inning run in a 8-1 loss toKansas City, the Twins were shutout a league-high 13th time.

 

Sabathia outduels Santana for second time in five days

<h3>CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 0</h3>By Brian Hall
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- If the Cleveland Indians hold on in theAmerican League Central, C.C. Sabathia will have had a big sayin the title-winning effort.


Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings and beat reigning CyYoung winner Johan Santana for the second time in five days inthe Indians' 5-0 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

The win puts Cleveland (79-58) six games up on idle Detroit(73-64) and a full 10 games clear of Minnesota (69-69). Thesetwo teams met last week in Cleveland and the Twins had aseason-high five-game winning streak going in. But the Indianspromptly swept Minnesota in three games with Sabathia gettingthe win in the finale.


"We just know that the division comes through here if we want towin the division," Sabathia said. "We know they are a goodteam, scrappy veteran team. We need to go out and try and playhard every time we play against them and it has been working outthis year."


Sabathia (16-7) allowed just six hits and a walk with sixstrikeouts to run his record to 4-1 against the Twins thisseason with a 1.93 ERA. He has allowed two earned runs or fewerin his last nine starts overall.


"C.C. is a great pitcher, great competitor," Indians' managerEric Wedge said. "He works so hard to keep himself in controlout there in every area. He makes his emotions work for him.He makes big pitches, pitches big games. He is really thecomplete package for us."


Cleveland gave him all the run support he needed early as theIndians scored once in each of the first three innings, and fourof the first five against Santana. They also got a hit in eachof the first six innings against the lefthander, who allowedfour runs and 10 hits in six frames in his last matchup withSabathia.


"The guys did a good job today manufacturing, finishing offinnings," Wedge said. "Getting some big hits, some big at-bats,some tough at-bats. That is what it takes to beat a guy likeSantana."


Santana wasn't as sharp as usual, giving up three walks and hisleague-leading 30th home run of the season, a solo shot by RyanGarko in the fifth. But, the lefthander was also undone by somesloppy play by shortstop Jason Bartlett.


After Kenny Lofton started the game with a walk, Santana gotAsdrubal Cabrera on a comebacker. He threw to Bartlett, whodropped a potential double-play opportunity. Lofton ended upscoring on a sacrifice fly by Victor Martinez.


The next inning, Bartlett bobbled a throw from center fielderTorii Hunter and subsequently couldn't make a relay throw tohome to try and get Casey Blake, who scored on the play.

In the third, Bartlett cut off a throw from right fielderMichael Cuddyer, which had the chance at getting Martinez goingfrom first to third on a Garko single. Martinez later scored ona sacrifice fly by Franklin Gutierrez.


"The shortstop had a tough day out there, miss a double-playball, miss a cut off, relay," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhiresaid. "Things like that you can't do to that baseball team overthere. They take advantage of every mistake you make."

Santana (14-11), losing to Cleveland for the second time in fivedays, went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Headded three strikeouts.


"Frustration I never use that word," Santana said. "Now, arethings working out? No. That is reality. You have to make someadjustments, then you aren't going to win. That's reality. Iam very realistic and I know exactly what I have to do."

The Twins didn't get their ace lefthander the same run supportas Cleveland. Minnesota's only runner to reach third base wasHunter in the first inning.


The lone bright spot was second baseman Alexi Casilla's firstcareer four-hit game. However, Casilla was stranded each time,twice at second base.


A day after scoring a single eighth-inning run in a 8-1 loss toKansas City, the Twins were shut out a league-high 13th time.

"Those guys over there they are playing good baseball," Santanasaid of the Indians. "They are comfortable. They have a lot ofconfidence and that is how you win games. If you look around, wedon't have that. We go out there and then we are not givingeverything that we have.


"We are supposed to be one of the best teams with fundamentals.We are not making those things. If you don't do that, you arenot going to win. Everything is going to go to one pitcher orone player, I don't think so. It is a team effort, and as ofright now, we aren't doing it."