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Indians complete DH sweep of Twins

Jul 19, 2011 - 4:33 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Lou Marson delivered a double and his first home run of the season, scoring twice, as he helped lead the Cleveland Indians to a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the second game of a double- header at Target Field.

In the opener of the four-game series earlier in the day, Cleveland plated four runs in the third inning, thanks in part to a three-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera, en route to the 5-2 road victory.

Michael Brantley accounted for three hits and an RBI in the nightcap for the Indians as they won for the fourth time in six games. Travis Hafner logged two RBI.

Cleveland hurler Fausto Carmona (5-10), who was making his first start after coming off the disabled list, permitted two runs on seven hits over six innings of action.

Making his major league debut for Minnesota, Scott Diamond (0-1) worked through 6 1/3 innings, permitting four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits, walking two and striking out one batter as he absorbed the loss.

Joe Mauer, who had three hits in the first game of the day, notched two more singles and a double in the second consecutive defeat for the club. Danny Valencia contributed two hits, including his 11th home run of the campaign, and Trevor Plouffe belted his fifth home run of the season in a losing cause.

"I felt pretty good at the plate," Mauer said of his efforts on offense. "Obviously the two games today, you get a lot of AB's and you just try to hold on to that feeling, but I think I just wasn't trying to do too much with the pitches and kinda do what I've been doing so it was a good day for me."

The first run of the night came in the third inning when Mauer shot a single to center, bringing Alexi Casilla around from second. Casilla had turned a single into a double when Austin Kearns fell to his knees in right field and lazily tossed the ball back to the infield. The Twins came up with three straight hits in the inning, but managed just the lone run.

In the top of the fifth, Diamond's pitch count began to climb and the Cleveland hitters appeared more comfortable at the plate, beginning with a two-out double to right be Marson. Ezequiel Carrera was issued the first walk of the game by the rookie left-hander, followed by RBI singles from Brantley and Cabrera to put the visitors up by a 2-1 count.

Valencia evened the score for Minnesota in the bottom of the sixth when with one out he ripped a ball into the seats in left field. The solo home run was the 16th long ball allowed by Carmona this season, the right-hander permitting just 17 all of 2010.

The tie was short-lived however, as Marson worked a full count before depositing a home run out to center field in the top of the seventh. Carrera then reached base on a fielding error, took second on a steal and was forced over to third on a bunt. An intentional walk to Cabrera put men at the corners with one out and also signaled the end of the night for Diamond.

"It's a big league lineup," Diamond said of the Cleveland hitters. "It's a first time experience so, you know, I was happy with the way I handled most of it and I'm just gonna keep tryin' to do what I did tonight."

Reliever Phil Dumatrait surrendered a single to Hafner, scoring Carrera to make the score 4-2. Just that quickly, Dumatrait exited and Alex Burnett was brought in to close out the inning without any more damage.

The Indians bolstered their lead in the ninth when Hafner's single up the middle off Chuck James brought Brantley in to score with two outs. Carlos Santana then posted his first triple of the season to left field, plating Luis Valbuena who had stepped in to run for Hafner.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the frame when Plouffe ripped a shot into the left field stands to cut the deficit to three runs.

Game Notes

Diamond was 4-8 with a 4.70 ERA in 17 starts for Triple-A Rochester prior to being called up...Diamond's first career strikeout came against Jack Hannahan, who was caught looking to end the sixth inning...Carmona returned to the mound after putting up a 1-7 record in his previous eight decisions...Minnesota's Ben Revere finished the day 0-for-9...This was the second-ever double-header sweep for the Tribe at Minnesota.