The Twins improved to 20-10 at the halfway mark of the 60-game season after they rallied against Cleveland and held on for a 3-2 win on Monday.
When these two teams get together — the two best teams in the AL Central — the games are low-scoring, nail-biting affairs. The Twins are 4-1 against the Tribe so far this season and over those five games they have outscored Cleveland 13-6.
And Monday’s game was no different.
Cleveland scored first with a solo shot off Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda, Nelson Cruz countered with a solo blast of his own and Miguel Sano hit a two-run home run to make it 3-1. The Indians scored a second run late in the game, but relievers Sergio Romo and Taylor Rogers halted the rally to secure the win.
Rich Hill gets the ball Tuesday. The Twins will have to face a tough customer in Shane Bieber, who is 5-0 with a 1.11 ERA. He also has 65 strikeouts in 40.2 innings.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are the third team in the majors to reach 20 wins, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A’s.
-Slugger Sano is carrying the Twins right now. According to MLB.com, he has an extra-base hit in eight straight games, “tying him with franchise legends Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva for the second-longest streak in club history.”
-Former Twins second baseman Brian Dozier holds the team record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit at 11, according to MLB.com.
-After Romo pitched a scoreless eighth, he slapped his glove like he usually does, then stared down the Indians bench on his way to the Twins dugout. It’s again great to see and it’s the kind of attitude the Twins need to beat the Yankees.
-Back to back appearances is usually a no-no for Rogers, but he, too, pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.
-And let’s not forget starter Maeda. He improved to 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA after he limited the Indians to one run over five innings with seven strikeouts. Not bad for your next start after a near no-hitter.