Twins 5, Indians 3
CLEVELAND -- Pedro Hernandez was short on sleep, but he left the Cleveland Indians short on runs.
After arriving in Cleveland at 4 a.m. Sunday as an emergency starter, Hernandez pitched well enough in five innings to get the win in the Minnesota Twins' 5-3 victory over the Indians on Sunday afternoon, snapping Cleveland's four-game winning streak.
Hernandez was an emergency starter for right-hander Mike Pelfrey, who was the scheduled starter Sunday. But Pefrey suffered a back strain while running in the outfield prior to Saturday's game and was placed on the disabled list.
So the call went to the Twins' Class AAA Rochester team for Hernandez. Rochester was playing in Louisville Saturday night, so Hernandez made the six-hour drive to Cleveland, arriving early Sunday morning.
Hernandez wasn't great -- throwing more balls (45) than strikes (40) and walking six in five innings -- but he was good enough to beat the Indians, salvaging the third game of the series for the Twins.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Joe Mauer doubled and scored on a single by Josh Willingham off Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco.
In second inning, Hernandez walked the bases loaded with no outs, but the Indians could score only one run, on a sacrifice fly by Yan Gomes. Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when Hernandez walked Mike Aviles leading off the inning. Jason Kipnis followed with an RBI double.
The Twins took the lead for good in the fifth inning. Clete Thomas singled leading off the inning, and Mauer drew a four-pitch walk. Carrasco retired the next two batters, but then gave up back-to-back, two-out RBI singles to Oswaldo Arcia and Trevor Plouffe as the Twins took a 3-2 lead.
Willingham's RBI single in the seventh inning gave the Twins a 4-2 lead, but Drew Stubbs' solo home run off reliever Casey Fien in the bottom of the seventh made it a one-run game. An RBI double by Arcia in the ninth inning made the final 5-3.
In improving his record to 3-1, Hernandez pitched five innings, allowing two runs on three hits, with two strikeouts and six walks.
Carrasco, who threw 104 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, took the loss. He is 0-3.
Notes: Indians first baseman Nick Swisher was back in the lineup Sunday for the first time since June 15. Swisher had been sidelines with a sore left shoulder. . . Kipnis was 3-for-5, including two doubles and an RBI. Kipnis this year is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with 12 RBIs against the Twins. . . Prior to Saturday night when Twins starter P.J. Walters did it, the last Twins starter to last just 2/3 of an inning and walk five batters was Joe Decker, who did it against the Indians on June 10, 1975. . . Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar has set a Twins record for consecutive appearances with zero runs allowed to start his major league career. Thielbar has pitched 13 2/3 scoreless innings over 12 appearances.
