The Minnesota Twins did not wait to beat up on the A.L. Central punching bags to deliver the knockout punch for a division title.
Instead, they socked the Indians in the mouth, twice in one day in Cleveland (2-0 and 9-5) on Saturday, to clinch a crucial three-game series win and take a 5.5 game lead on the Tribe with 14 games remaining.
Minnesota (91-57), which goes for the sweep today at 12:10, has a strong upper hand on the schedule to win its first division championship in nine years. Cleveland (86-63) is now also 2.5 games back of Tampa Bay for the final A.L. wild card spot.
The Twins’ final 13 games will be against the going-nowhere losing teams of Kansas City, Detroit, and the Chicago White Sox. The Indians also have six combined games against the Tigers and White Sox, but also must face National League playoff contenders Philadelphia and Washington — the latter on the road for the final three games of the season.
Minnesota was reeling coming into the series, having lost two of three to Cleveland in Minneapolis last weekend, then two of three at home to the Nationals. Two key Twins’ seasons were shut down in the last week: Difference-making centerfielder Byron Buxton (shoulder surgery), and reliable starting pitcher Michael Pineda (60-game suspension for testing postitive for performance enhancing drug).
The lead was down to 3.5 games, and a series loss to the Indians — who came in having won four in a row and five of the last seven against the Twins — would have meant a mere 2.5 game lead. A sweep would have cut the lead to a half game.
Instead, after Friday’s game was postponed due to Saturday due to rain, the Twins took back control of a division they once led by 11.5 games in June with two impressive wins — a pitchers’ dual and a come-from-behind slugfest:
Game 2: Twins 9, Indians 5
Miguel Sano belted a grand slam in the eighth inning as visiting Minnesota swept a split doubleheader from Cleveland to tighten its hold on the AL Central.
Eddie Rosario launched a two-run homer in the first inning, and Nelson Cruz followed suit in the sixth for the Twins (91-57), who boosted their lead to 5 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland (86-63). Jorge Polanco sent an offering from Oliver Perez (2-3) off the wall in left field for an RBI double to forge a tie at 5-5 in the eighth inning, helping to set the stage for Sano.
Rookie Oscar Mercado crushed a two-run homer to highlight his three-hit performance, and Jordan Luplow also went deep for the Indians.
Game 1: Twins 2, Indians 0
Polanco hit a two-run home run and five Minnesota pitchers combined for a five-hitter as the Twins also took Game 1 from Cleveland, a game that was a makeup for Friday night, when rain forced postponement after two innings.
Max Kepler and Luis Arraez each doubled and had two hits for Minnesota, while Zack Littell (5-0) allowed one hit and struck out two over two innings after taking over for opener Devin Smeltzer (one hit, three innings).
Mike Clevinger (11-3) suffered the loss, his first since June 28 at Baltimore. That ended a streak during which he won 10 straight decisions over 13 starts. He allowed six hits and a walk while striking out 10 over eight innings.
