SB Nation Cleveland - Indians Win Nail-Biter 4-3, Winning Streak Reaches Season-High 6 Gameshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48841/cleveland-fave.png2010-07-20T22:38:04-05:00http://cleveland.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13429832010-07-20T22:38:04-05:002010-07-20T22:38:04-05:00Streaking Tribe Wins Yet Again Against A Contending Team, Masterson Gets A Hard-Luck No-Decision
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<p>Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) – Travis Hafner’s <span class="caps">RBI</span> double in the eighth proved to be the difference, and the Cleveland Indians extended their winning streak to a season-best six with a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.</p>
<p>Hafner finished with a pair of hits for the Indians, who have yet to lose since the All-Star break. It is the longest winning streak for the club since a seven-game stretch from September 15-22, 2008.</p>
<p>Shelley Duncan drove in two, while Carlos Santana and Matt LaPorta each had two hits in the win. Rafael Perez (3-0) earned the win despite allowing two inherited runners to score, and Chris Perez earned his ninth save.</p>
<p>Denard Span and Orlando Hudson each recorded two hits and an <span class="caps">RBI</span> for the Twins, who have lost three straight home games to the Indians for the first time since August 6, 2007-April 18, 2008.</p>
<p>Kevin Slowey allowed three runs in 5 2/3 frames, but didn’t factor into the decision, as Jose Mijares (1-1) received the loss for giving up the hit to Hafner.</p>
<p>After the Twins tied the game in the seventh, the Indians grabbed a 4-3 lead in the eighth when Santana drew a four-pitch walk off Mijares and raced around to score on Hafner’s double to center.</p>
<p>Joe Smith induced three straight groundouts to set down the Twins in order in the eighth, and Perez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the victory.</p>
<p>The Indians used some more timely hitting to take the lead in the sixth.</p>
<p>Santana singled with one away, and Jhonny Peralta’s two-out base hit moved Santana to second. After LaPorta worked a walk, Jesse Crain relieved Slowey and yielded a two-run single to Duncan, giving Cleveland a 3-1 advantage.</p>
<p>The Twins, though, rallied to tie the game in the seventh. J.J. Hardy and Nick Punto hit back-to-back one-out singles to end Justin Masterson’s outing, and Span and Hudson greeted Rafael Perez with consecutive <span class="caps">RBI</span> singles to even the score.</p>
<p>Minnesota jumped on the board in the opening inning.</p>
<p>Span legged out a double to center leading off, and Hudson followed with a single just past the outstretched glove of Jason Donald at second to put runners on the corners.</p>
<p>Joe Mauer’s ground ball scored Span and sent Hudson to second, and Hudson moved to third on a wild pitch. Masterson, though, settled down to strike out Jason Kubel and Jim Thome to get out of the inning.</p>
<p>The Indians tied the game in the fifth. LaPorta started the frame with a single and moved to second on Trevor Crowe’s groundout. With two outs, Donald launched a double to right, easily scoring LaPorta for a 1-1 game.</p>
<p>The Indians are 16-15 in Santana’s 31 starts at catcher…Cleveland is 20-17 against the AL Central overall…Slowey has just one win since June 13…The Indians have recorded an extra-base hit in 43 straight games, the longest active streak in the AL…The Twins have just one stolen base in their last 14 games…The season series is tied, 4-4…The Indians activated shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera after he sat out two months with a broken arm. He went 0- for-5 out of the leadoff spot in his first game since May 17…Masterson finished with three runs allowed on seven hits and a walk while fanning seven in 6 1/3 frames.</p>
https://cleveland.sbnation.com/2010/7/20/1579718/streaking-tribe-wins-yet-againAncientMariner2010-07-20T14:37:55-05:002010-07-20T14:37:55-05:00Tribe Aims For Sixth Straight Won Tonight Against Minnesota
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<p>(Sports Network) - The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/CLE">Cleveland Indians</a> are beginning to atone for a miserable first half of the season with a terrific start to their second.</p>
<p>The rejuvenated Indians take aim at a sixth consecutive victory following the All-Star break when they resume a three-game series with the American League Central contending <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/MIN">Minnesota Twins</a> this evening at Target Field.</p>
<p>Cleveland found itself buried in last place in the AL Central with a brutal 34-54 record at the break, but have been on fire since returning from the hiatus. The Indians began their streak with a surprising four-game home sweep of playoff-hopeful Detroit, then kept rolling with a 10-4 battering of the Twins in last night's opener of this set.</p>
<p>The Indians pounded out a season-best 20 hits in Monday's triumph, with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31819/Trevor_Crowe">Trevor Crowe</a> going 4-for-5 with two RBI to lead the outburst. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31316/Jayson_Nix">Jayson Nix</a> finished with three hits and also knocked in two runs for the Tribe, with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31527/Jason_Donald">Jason Donald</a> contributing two hits and a pair of RBI to the winning effort.</p>
<p>Cleveland has scored 31 runs and batted .311 as a team over the course of its five-game surge.</p>
<p>"They're hot right now," said Twins outfielder <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/592/Delmon_Young">Delmon Young</a> after yesterday's game. "You don't want to play a team that's hot right now. Everything is going to go their way."</p>
<p>The Indians also received effective pitching from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/4330/Aaron_Laffey">Aaron Laffey</a> in the opener, as the left-hander yielded just one unearned run despite walking four batters over the first five innings.</p>
<p>"Obviously you're going to be frustrated about the walks, but I was able to minimize the damage and get out of a big jam in the fourth," Laffey said. "I made big pitches when I needed to and get the outs when they were the most important."</p>
<p>Minnesota went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and fell to 2 1/2 games behind current AL Central leader Chicago with Monday's defeat. The Twins entered this series off three straight wins over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/CWS">White Sox</a>.</p>
<p>Twins starter <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/742/Scott_Baker">Scott Baker</a> (7-9) was hit hard in his first outing of the second half, surrendering six runs and 10 hits before exiting after 4 2/3 innings. Former Indians star <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/157/Jim_Thome">Jim Thome</a> had a solo homer for Minnesota, while <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/685/Orlando_Hudson">Orlando Hudson</a> ended 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the setback.</p>
<p>Young collected three hits, including a run-scoring single, and is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with six RBI over his last six contests. The effort has raised the former No. 1 overall draft pick's season average to .313.</p>
<p>The Twins will try to bounce back tonight behind the struggling <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/751/Kevin_Slowey">Kevin Slowey</a>, who's notched just one win since June 13 and has allowed five runs or more in five of his past six starts. The right-hander has posted a poor 9.11 earned run average over that bad stretch.</p>
<p>Slowey wasn't sharp once again in Thursday's encounter with the White Sox, permitting five runs and nine hits in only three innings of work. He wound up being bailed out by his offense, though, and finished with a no-decision in an eventual 8-7 Minnesota loss.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old does have a track record of success against the Indians, however. Slowey has won both of his previous meetings with Cleveland this season, including an April 20 verdict at Target Field in which he fired eight innings of one-run ball, and has come out on top in each of his last four starts in this series. In eight lifetime appearances against the Tribe, he's 5-2 with a 3.73 ERA.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/33392/Justin_Masterson">Justin Masterson</a> gets the call for Cleveland tonight in a delayed second-half debut. The tall right-hander was initially slated to pitch Sunday against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/DET">Tigers</a>, but was pushed back a couple of days with a sore ankle.</p>
<p>Like his team, Masterson has endured a rough 2010 campaign. He went 3-8 with a 5.31 ERA in 18 starts prior to the All-Star break and has especially had problems on the road, where the 25-year-old has produced a 1-5 record with a subpar 6.75 ERA in 10 mound trips. One of those defeats came against Slowey at Target Field, where Masterson was reached for five runs (two earned) and walked five batters in four innings back on April 20.</p>
<p>Masterson, who's 0-3 with a 5.01 ERA through four starts and one relief appearance versus Minnesota, last pitched on July 11 and allowed five runs (four earned) in a five-inning no-decision at Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>These divisional foes have split four meetings at Target Field so far in 2010, with the Twins having won four of the seven overall games played between the clubs this season.</p>
https://cleveland.sbnation.com/2010/7/20/2318129/tribe-aims-for-sixth-straight-won-tonight-against-minnesotaAncientMariner