CLEVELAND, Ohio – It looked like the Indians were going to cruise to their seventh straight win on Friday night. Starter Mike Clevinger handed over a 3-1 lead to one of the best bullpens in baseball, but it wasn’t enough, as Minnesota scored three runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to complete a 5-3 comeback win over the Tribe.
Jorge Polanco had the key hit in the seventh, a two-out, two-run double off of Oliver Perez that gave the Twins the lead for good.
.@Jorge_Polanco1's big 2-RBI double! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/xd9NsvJ5PA
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins)
July 13, 2019 Polanco's double went over the head of Oscar Mercado, who admittedly misjudged it. He turned the wrong way, which prevented him from have any chance at making the catch.
“I had to be perfect and I wasn’t,” he said.
Earlier in the inning, reliever Nick Goody bobbled a ground ball that gave the Twins some momentum. That was a game changing play that led to Minnesota's rally.
"Anytime you give good teams anything, it can come back to bite you," manager Terry Francona said.
Minnesota got off to a quick start, as Nelson Cruz hit a solo homer in the first inning to give them a 1-0 lead. It was the only run the right-hander allowed in five innings of work. He gave up four hits, issued two walks and finished with six strikeouts.
The Indians got on the board in the fifth with a solo home run from Carlos Santana. It was his 20th homer of the season and tied the game 1-1. Santana has reached base safely in 30 straight games. Cleveland added two more later in the inning when Roberto Perez hit a two-out, two-run single to give the Indians a 3-1 lead.
Minnesota threatened in the fifth, as Luis Arraez started things off with a single. Miguel Sano hit a double to give the Twins runners on second and third with no outs.
Clevinger responded to the pressure by getting Ehire Adrianza to ground out to third. Then, he struck out Byron Buxton and Max Kepler to avoid any damage. It was the most important sequence of the game for the right-hander.
“I was kinda thinking to myself, 'You can get mad or you can have fun right now,‘" Clevinger said. "So I choose to have fun. It seemed like the right combo.”
FIRED UP! ---------------------- pic.twitter.com/7qwEmkHJ1G
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio)
July 13, 2019 The Indians had the top of the order at the plate in the seventh and eighth innings, but were unable to rally. They fall to 50-39 on the season and trail the Twins by 6½ games in the American League Central Division.
The Return – Jose Ramirez has had an impressive couple of weeks for the Indians and that continued on Friday night. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, a stolen base and a run scored. He also made a few nice plays at third base, including a diving catch in the seventh inning, stealing a base hit from Luis Arraez. Ramirez has a .333 batting average, with two home runs and 16 hits in his last 13 games.
De---#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/FLQhEvVinQ
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio)
July 13, 2019 Let the Trading Begin – The Indians acquired right-handed reliever Phil Maton from the San Diego Padres in exchange for part of their International Bonus Pool money on Friday. Maton will be sent to Triple-A Columbus. The 26-year-old has bounced back and forth between San Diego and Triple-A El Paso this season. He has a 7.71 ERA in 24⅓ big league innings. Maton posted a 2.89 ERA in 13 relief appearances in Triple-A.
Up Next – Trevor Bauer will get the ball for the Tribe on Saturday against the Twins. He enters with an 8-6 record and a 3.61 ERA. Jake Odorizzi will get the start for Minnesota. He’s 10-4 with a 3.15 ERA this season.
