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Peralta's power bat leads Indians past Twins

Jul 28, 2007 - 3:44 AM Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Jhonny Peralta helped make sure Kenny Lofton's return to Cleveland was a victorious one.

Peralta had two home runs and five RBI to lead the Indians to a 10-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Lofton had three hits and an RBI in his first game back with Cleveland since the end of the 2001 season.

"It was pretty cool," Lofton said. "I didn't know what to expect in getting my nerves to calm down. It was very touching to get it out of the way and show the fans of Cleveland that I have something left.

"Hopefully we can keep the good time going here and hopefully we got something special going."

Lofton, who was acquired earlier in the day via a trade with Texas, is making his third stint with Cleveland. The Indians all-time leader in stolen bases played for the Tribe from 1992-96 and 1998-2001.

The Indians fans welcomed back their former leadoff hitter with a standing ovation before his first at-bat. Lofton tipped his hat twice to the crowd before striking out.

"It was a little emotional at first with all the fans cheering," Lofton said. "I was trying calm myself down before the first at-bat, but I was excited about it."

Lofton's second at-bat, as well as most of the Indians, was better as the Tribe sent 12 men to the plate in a six-run third, highlighted by Peralta's three-run homer.

Josh Barfield led off the third by reaching on third baseman Brian Buscher's throwing error. After a walk to Grady Sizemore, Lofton laid down a perfect bunt off the plate to load the bases.

Victor Martinez followed by hitting what looked like a double play ball, but Lofton went hard into second base forcing shortstop Nick Punto to make a wild throw, allowing another run to score.

"Anytime you feel something like (Lofton's ovation) in the stadium, it's going to do a lot for this ballclub," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "Kenny's a big time player and he responded to it. He was a big part of this win."

After a Travis Hafner single put runners on the corner, Peralta blasted Twins starter Boof Bonser's 1-1 pitch into the left field bleachers.

Cleveland tacked on another run in the inning on Kelly Shoppach's groundout to make it 6-0.

Lofton's RBI single in the fifth stretched the Indians lead out to 8-0 and Peralta followed an inning later with a two run-homer to center off Juan Rincon.

"(Lofton's) a good guy," Peralta said. "He brought me good luck today. Hopefully he brings good luck for the team."

It was the third multi-homer game of Peralta's career and his first multi-homer game since July 4, 2006 against the New York Yankees.

"I have been working a little bit with my bat," Peralta said. "I have been swinging a little high and today I was swinging a little lower."

The run support was enough for Paul Byrd (9-4) as the righthander gave up four runs - three earned - on 10 hits in seven innings.

Byrd held the Twins scoreless through the first six innings before giving up a two-run homer to Jason Kubel as the Twins closed within 10-2.

"It helped that we got a bunch of runs early," Byrd said. "It helped me relax out there."

The win kept the Indians undefeated against the Twins this season. Cleveland has won all six meetings between the teams by a combined score of 46-17.

"It's getting embarrassing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's one thing to get beat. It's another thing to get embarrassed. That doesn't happen here. That's what I told the team."

Bonser (5-7) was knocked around for six runs - four earned - in 2 2/3 innings. The righthander gave up nine hits in his shortest outing of the season. Buscher provided a bright spot for the Twins as he collected his first major league hit with a single in the third.