Cleveland Indians Begin Second Half With 5-2 Win Over Twins

The Cleveland Indians started the second half off with a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins Friday night at Target Field. The win moved the Indians to 53-36 on the season and gives them the best record in the American League with a .596 winning percentage. The loss dropped the Twins to 32-57, just a game and a half above the Atlanta Braves for the worst record in baseball.

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Tribe starter Carlos Carrasco had a nice bounceback start, going 6 2/3 innings allowing two runs on just four hits. He only struck out three but walked just one and kept the Twins hitters off balance enough to earn sixth win of the season (6-3). The Twins were able to get to Carrasco and take an early lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to back-to-back singles by Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano put runners on first and second with one out. A wild pitch and a Brian Dozier sacrifice fly would give the Twins the 1-0 lead.Dozier would get to Carrasco again in the bottom of the 4th inning, hitting a solo home run (his 15th of the season) to tie the game at two after the Tribe had taken a 2-1 lead.

Dozier would get to Carrasco again in the bottom of the 4th inning, hitting a solo home run (his 15th of the season) to tie the game at two after the Tribe had taken a 2-1 lead. After the Tribe retook the lead Jeff Manship, Bryan Shaw, and Cody Allen worked 2 1/3 innings in relief to close out the Tribe victory. Both Shaw and Allen recorded two strikeouts in their innings of work with Allen picking up his 19th save of the season.

Offensively the Indians didn’t have a ton of success against Twins’ starter Ervin Santana (L, 3-8) but were able to get to him for four runs (three earned) on six hits. The Tribe was led by Mike Napoli and Jose Ramirez who combined for five hits, three runs scored, and three runs batted in on the night. Ramirez got the Tribe on the board in the top of the 4th inning on a RBI single, scoring Francisco Lindor and tying the game at 1-1. Lonnie Chisenhall would then give the Tribe the lead at 2-1 with a RBI groundout, scoring Napoli.

The Indians retook the lead in the 6th inning when Ramirez once again knocked in Lindor with a RBI single up the middle that nearly took out Ervin Santana. The Tribe added a second run in the inning when Napoli scored on a wild pitch making it 4-2 Indians. Napoli would extend the lead to 5-2 in the 8th inning with his 19th home run of the season, putting him just one behind Carlos Santana for the team lead.

Next: 2016 Cleveland Indians Midseason Awards

With the win, the Indians maintained their 6.5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers, who beat the Kansas City Royals Friday night. The Indians will look to extend that lead Saturday evening as Trevor Bauer (7-3, 3.30 ERA) is set to take on Minnesota’s Tyler Duffey (5-6, 5.20). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm EST at Target Field.