GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (80-58) at MINNESOTA (69-70)

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

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CLEVELAND (6) AT MINNESOTA (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
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CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore singled to center. A Cabrera hit by pitch,
G Sizemore to second. T Hafner doubled to center, G Sizemore scored, A Cabrera
to third. V Martinez doubled to deep right, A Cabrera and T Hafner scored.
R Garko hit by pitch. J Peralta struck out swinging. F Gutierrez struck out
swinging. J Michaels grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Garko out at
second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 5TH: B Buscher singled to right. C Heintz struck out swinging.
N Punto singled to left, B Buscher to second. J Tyner singled to left,
B Buscher to third, N Punto to second. L Rodriguez hit sacrifice fly to right,
B Buscher scored, N Punto to third. T Hunter singled to center, N Punto scored,
J Tyner to third. J Morneau grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: A Cabrera reached on bunt single to third. T Hafner walked,
A Cabrera to second. P Neshek relieved N Blackburn. V Martinez struck out
swinging. R Garko struck out looking. J Peralta doubled to deep center,
A Cabrera scored, T Hafner to third. F Gutierrez walked. K Lofton hit for
J Michaels. K Lofton singled to center, T Hafner and J Peralta scored,
F Gutierrez to third. C Blake flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 2.</div>

 

Carmona shuts down Twins as Indians complete series sweep

<h3>CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 2</h3>By Brian Hall
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- There was no suspense of a no-hitter forMinnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker. Rather, Fausto Carmonaproduced a gem this time around.


Carmona pitched into the eighth inning and the Cleveland Indiansplated three first-inning runs against Baker en route to a 6-2triumph over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon.

It was the 16th victory in the last 20 games for the Indians,who completed a three-game series sweep of the Twins andimproved to 14-4 this season against their American LeagueCentral Division rivals.


Cleveland (81-58) also climbed 7 1/2 games ahead of the DetroitTigers (73-65), which hosts Chicago later Wednesday. In postingtheir second three-game sweep of the Twins in the past week,the Indians moved 12 1/2 games clear of the defending divisionchampions.


Carmona (15-8) doesn't get the publicity of his more-heraldedteammate, lefthander C.C. Sabathia. But he has put himselfright in the thick of the AL Cy Young Award race in just hissecond season in the majors.


Carmona's 15th win puts him two behind league-leaders JoshBeckett of Boston and Chien-Ming Wang of New York. Carmona alsolowered his ERA to 3.27, good for eighth in the league.

However, Carmona might have been set up for success in this one.Minnesota's offense is last in the league in runs scored, andCarmona entered the game second in the league in day ERA (2.11)and fourth in road ERA (2.86).


The righthander improved to to 2-1 against the Twins thisseason, yielding two runs, eight hits and two walks with fourstrikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.


Lefthander Rafael Perez recorded the final five outs of thecontest for his first career save.


Cleveland got all the runs they would need in the first inningoff the Baker, who went eight innings into a perfect game hislast time out against Kansas City.


The first five batters reached base against Baker (8-7) , whohit two batters and gave up a single and two doubles in theinning. Travis Hafner plated Grady Sizemore with a double toopen the scoring and Victor Martinez followed with a double toright, driving home Asdrubal Cabrera and Hafner.


But Baker would settle down from there. The righthanderrecorded two strikeouts and a ground ball to get out of theinning.


The Indians would threaten with runners in each of his fiveinnings - including a bases-loaded threat in the fourth - butBaker shut the door each time.


The Indians stranded nine baserunners against Baker and 11 inthe game. Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer nailed Ryan Garkoat home to end the fifth inning for his league-leading 18thoutfield assist.


Baker simply ran out of gas, leaving the game after five inningshaving thrown 97 pitches - including a 36-pitch first inning.He gave up the three runs and 11 hits, striking out six in theprocess.


Minnesota drew within 3-2 with a two-run fifth. Luis Rodriguezplated Brian Buscher with a sacrifice fly to right field andTorii Hunter followed with an RBI single, scoring Nick Punto.

However, Cleveland added three crucial insurance runs in theninth thanks to Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and Kenny Lofton'stwo-run pinch-hit single.


Martinez had two hits and two RBI while Hafner and Peralta eachadded two hits and an RBI for Cleveland, which is three contestsinto a 10-game road trip.


Casey Blake chipped in three hits for the Indians, who kick offa four-game road series against the Los Angeles Angels ofAnaheim - the top team in the AL West.

 

AL: CLEVELAND at MINNESOTA

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CLEVELAND (6) AT MINNESOTA (2) - EVENT LOG
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Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, F Gutierrez LF, J Michaels RF, C Blake 3B,
F Carmona RHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- J Tyner LF, L Rodriguez 2B, T Hunter CF,
J Morneau 1B, M Cuddyer RF, J Kubel DH, B Buscher 3B, C Heintz C, N Punto SS,
S Baker RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore singled to center. A Cabrera hit by pitch,
G Sizemore to second. T Hafner doubled to center, G Sizemore scored, A Cabrera
to third. V Martinez doubled to deep right, A Cabrera and T Hafner scored.
R Garko hit by pitch. J Peralta struck out swinging. F Gutierrez struck out
swinging. J Michaels grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Garko out at
second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: J Tyner grounded out to pitcher. L Rodriguez grounded out
to pitcher. T Hunter reached on infield single to second. J Morneau walked,
T Hunter to second. M Cuddyer grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: C Blake singled to right center. G Sizemore grounded into
double play, first to shortstop to first, C Blake out at second. A Cabrera
walked. T Hafner grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: J Kubel struck out swinging. B Buscher singled to left.
C Heintz grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, B Buscher
out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: V Martinez singled to left. R Garko grounded into double
play, shortstop to first, V Martinez out at second. J Peralta doubled to deep
center. F Gutierrez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 3RD: N Punto grounded out to second. J Tyner reached on infield
single to first. L Rodriguez singled to right, J Tyner to third. T Hunter
lined into double play, pitcher to first, L Rodriguez out at first. (0 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Michaels singled to center. C Blake doubled to deep
center, J Michaels to third. G Sizemore grounded out to second. A Cabrera
struck out swinging. T Hafner intentionally walked. V Martinez struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Morneau grounded out to pitcher. M Cuddyer struck out
swinging. J Kubel grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: R Garko singled to center. J Peralta struck out swinging.
F Gutierrez struck out swinging. J Michaels singled to center, R Garko to
second. C Blake singled to right, R Garko thrown out at home. (0 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 5TH: B Buscher singled to right. C Heintz struck out swinging.
N Punto singled to left, B Buscher to second. J Tyner singled to left,
B Buscher to third, N Punto to second. L Rodriguez hit sacrifice fly to right,
B Buscher scored, N Punto to third. T Hunter singled to center, N Punto scored,
J Tyner to third. J Morneau grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: N Blackburn relieved S Baker. G Sizemore popped out to
shortstop. A Cabrera struck out looking. T Hafner singled to left center.
V Martinez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 6TH: M Cuddyer walked. J Kubel grounded into double play, second
to shortstop to first, M Cuddyer out at second. B Buscher grounded out to
second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 7TH: R Garko flied out to right. J Peralta struck out swinging.
F Gutierrez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 7TH: C Heintz struck out swinging. N Punto grounded out to
second. J Tyner grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Michaels lined out to third. C Blake struck out looking.
G Sizemore flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 8TH: L Rodriguez grounded out to first. T Hunter hit by pitch.
R Perez relieved F Carmona. J Morneau flied out to left. T Hunter stole
second, T Hunter to third on wild pitch by R Perez. M Cuddyer flied out to
center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: A Cabrera reached on bunt single to third. T Hafner walked,
A Cabrera to second. P Neshek relieved N Blackburn. V Martinez struck out
swinging. R Garko struck out looking. J Peralta doubled to deep center,
A Cabrera scored, T Hafner to third. F Gutierrez walked. K Lofton hit for
J Michaels. K Lofton singled to center, T Hafner and J Peralta scored,
F Gutierrez to third. C Blake flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 2.

MINNESOTA 9TH: F Gutierrez in right field. K Lofton in left field. R White
hit for J Kubel. R White safe at first on throwing error by first baseman
R Garko. J Bartlett hit for B Buscher. J Bartlett grounded into double play,
second to shortstop to first, R White out at second. C Heintz grounded out to
third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 2.</div>

 

Carmona shuts down Twins as Indians complete series sweep

<h3>CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 2</h3>By Brian Hall
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- There was no suspense of a no-hitter forMinnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker. Rather, Fausto Carmonaproduced a gem this time around.


Carmona pitched into the eighth inning and the Cleveland Indiansplated three first-inning runs against Baker en route to a 6-2triumph over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon.

It was the 16th victory in the last 20 games for the Indians,who completed a three-game series sweep of the Twins andimproved to 14-4 this season against their American LeagueCentral Division rivals.


Cleveland (81-58) also climbed 7 1/2 games ahead of the DetroitTigers (73-65), which hosts Chicago later Wednesday. In postingtheir second three-game sweep of the Twins in the past week,the Indians moved 12 1/2 games clear of the defending divisionchampions.


"We just came out of a really big slump, everybody was in a bigslump," Indians catcher Victor Martinez said. "But its 162games and sometimes you expect that. When you find a team thatwins 162 games, come and tell me. But, definitely we areplaying good right now. We just try to keep on rolling."

Carmona (15-8) doesn't get the publicity of his more-heraldedteammate, lefthander C.C. Sabathia. But he has put himselfright in the thick of the AL Cy Young Award race in just hissecond season in the majors.


Carmona's 15th win puts him two behind league-leaders JoshBeckett of Boston and Chien-Ming Wang of New York. Carmona alsolowered his ERA to 3.27, good for eighth in the league.

"They have both been very consistent for us all year," saidIndians manager Eric Wedge of Carmona and Sabathia. "They areboth big game pitchers. Fausto has come so far in a shortperiod of time."


However, Carmona might have been set up for success in this one.Minnesota's offense is last in the league in runs scored, andCarmona entered the game second in the league in day ERA (2.11)and fourth in road ERA (2.86).


The righthander improved to 2-1 against the Twins this season,yielding two runs, eight hits and two walks with four strikeoutsover 7 1/3 innings.


"I left some balls up in the zone," Carmona said. "Pitching onthis turf as a sinkerballer is hard. But you can't change theway you pitch. You have to hope they hit it at the infielders."

Lefthander Rafael Perez recorded the final five outs of thecontest for his first career save.


"Fausto commanded the ballgame throughout," Wedge said. "Hetook us about as deep as you could want, and Perez did a greatjob after that."


Cleveland got all the runs they would need in the first inningoff the Baker, who went eight innings into a perfect game hislast time out against Kansas City.


The first five batters reached base against Baker (8-7) , whohit two batters and gave up a single and two doubles in theinning. Travis Hafner plated Grady Sizemore with a double toopen the scoring and Victor Martinez followed with a double toright, driving home Asdrubal Cabrera and Hafner.


But Baker would settle down from there. The righthanderrecorded two strikeouts and a ground ball to get out of theinning.


"Each start is its own start, regardless of what the previousoutcome was," Baker said. "I keep reiterating results are aby-product. I go out there and put in the work that is neededfor each start and I just take it from there."


The Indians would threaten with runners in each of his fiveinnings - including a bases-loaded threat in the fourth - butBaker shut the door each time.


The Indians stranded nine baserunners against Baker and 11 inthe game. Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer nailed Ryan Garkoat home to end the fifth inning for his league-leading 18thoutfield assist.


"Baker was Houdini a little bit," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire."It seemed like the leadoff hitter was on every inning. But hefound a way to get through it. He found a way to leave them outthere and made some big pitches when he had to in bigsituations."


Baker simply ran out of gas, leaving the game after five inningshaving thrown 97 pitches - including a 36-pitch first inning.He gave up the three runs and 11 hits, striking out six in theprocess.


Minnesota drew within 3-2 with a two-run fifth. Luis Rodriguezplated Brian Buscher with a sacrifice fly to right field andTorii Hunter followed with an RBI single, scoring Nick Punto.

However, Cleveland added three crucial insurance runs in theninth thanks to Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and Kenny Lofton'stwo-run pinch-hit single.


Martinez had two hits and two RBI while Hafner and Peralta eachadded two hits and an RBI for Cleveland, which is three contestsinto a 10-game road trip.


"The big key right now is Hafner is doing well," Lofton said."When I first got over here, he was struggling a little bit, butit seems like right now he is starting to pick it up and thatis big for this team."


Casey Blake chipped in three hits for the Indians, who kick offa four-game road series against the Los Angeles Angels ofAnaheim - the top team in the AL West.