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Twins score two in ninth to beat Indians

Jul 27, 2008 - 9:16 PM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Justin Morneau wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Morneau drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-2, on Sunday.

The Twins (56-47) won the final two games of the three-game series as they head back home for a pivotal four-game series with the first-place Chicago White Sox (59-44) on Monday.

"We're going to put our season on it, but we know we can make up some ground," Morneau said. "We know if we play well (against Chicago) we can move into first place."

After Cleveland tied the game at 2-2 in the eighth, Alexi Casilla started the rally with a one-out double off of Rafael Perez (1-2) that eluded left fielder David Dellucci. After a strikeout, the Indians elected to pitch to Morneau with first base open.

"Perez is one of the best against lefthanders," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He has always handle Morneau. It's tough to walk a guy and face a guy (Delmon Young) who hits lefties well."

Morneau, who had one hit in eight previous at-bats against Perez, worked the count to 3-1 before lacing Perez's slider into the gap in left-center for a double to give the Twins the lead.

"(Perez) is tough against lefties," Morneau said. "I wanted to look for my pitch and not go after balls out of the zone."

Morneau thought he missed his chance to get a hit off of Perez when he took a 2-0 pitch for a strike.



"It was the pitch I thought he was going to throw, but I didn't swing," Morneau said. "I was angry that I didn't swing. Then (Perez) threw the same pitch at 3-1 and I went the other way."

Jason Kubel followed an intentional walk to Young with an RBI single.

Matt Guerrier (6-4) retired the last three batters of the eighth for the win and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save in 30 opportunities.

Cleveland tied the game in the eighth and could have taken the lead if not for a great catch by center fielder Denard Span.

Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore led off the eighth with consecutive singles off of Dennys Reyes to put runners on the corner. Pinch-hitter David Dellucci followed with a fly ball to left-center that looked destined for a double, but Span raced over and made a running catch just before the ball hit the ground.

"When (Dellucci) hit it, I didn't think I could catch it," Span said. "I kept running towards a spot and at the last minute reached out and the ball went in my glove."

Cabrera easily tagged from third to tie the game, but the Twins realized the damage could have been worse.

"That was the play of the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "That saved the game. We were in dire straits there.

"I don't think anyone in the park thought he was going to make that catch," Wedge said. "It was a great play."

The first seven innings featured a pitcher's duel between Jeremy Sowers and Nick Blackburn.

Sowers retired the first 15 batters he faced, but lost his bid for perfection when Craig Monroe blooped a double to start the sixth. The Twins scored two runs later in the inning on RBI groundouts by Denard Span and Casilla to take a 2-1 lead.

"I was aware of it," said Sowers of the perfect game. "It didn't affect the way I pitched. It's a little worrisome when a guy gets on base and you are pitching from the stretch for the first time."

Sowers went a season-high eight innings, giving up two runs and three hits. The lefthander walked one and struck out five.

Blackburn matched Sowers as held the Indians to one run and four hits in seven innings. The righthander walked one and struck out three.