Final
Indians go for sweep following extra-inning victory
Sep 5, 2007 - 2:30 PM Cleveland (80-58) at Minnesota (69-70) 1:10 pm EDTMINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Travis Hafner and the Cleveland Indians have had their way with the Minnesota Twins all year. The Indians can strengthen their hold on the American League Central Division by completing the domination of their rival.
After outlasting the Twins in an 11-inning battle on Tuesday, the Indians look to sweep a three-game series between the divisional foes on Wednesday.
Hafner belted a game-tying two-run homer off closer Joe Nathan in the ninth inning Tuesday and plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th to lift Minnesota to a 7-5 triumph.
It was the 14th victory in the last 18 games for the Indians, who improved to 13-4 against the Twins this season.
Hafner, who homered twice in the game, has hit his last five home runs against the Twins. None was bigger than his ninth-inning blast, as Hafner has had a down season after hitting .308 with 42 home runs and 117 RBI in 2006. The 30-year-old slugger is hitting .257 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI this season.
With the win, the Indians pushed their lead to seven games over the Detroit Tigers (73-65) in the division.
Fausto Carmona (14-8, 3.31 ERA) will take the mound for the Indians on Wednesday. Carmona has struggled of late and hasn't won a game since August 15 against the Tigers.
In his last start, the 23-year-old righthander battled his control, walking six over six innings while allowing five runs and seven hits against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Minnesota counters with Scott Baker (8-6, 4.09), who took a perfect game into the ninth inning during his last start against the Kansas City Royals.
Baker, who struck out nine in the contest, came away with the first shutout of his career.
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 15 1
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA, RAFAEL PEREZ (8TH) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ
MIN - SCOTT BAKER, NICK BLACKBURN (6TH), PAT NESHEK
(9TH) AND CHRIS HEINTZ
HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE
MIN
Sep 5 4:11 PM - AL
AT MINNESOTA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY KENNY LOFTON SCORED TRAVIS HAFNER AND JHONNY
PERALTA.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, K LOFTON ON FIRST, F GUTIERREZ ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 6
MINNESOTA 2 TOP, 9TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.269, 3-FOR-4)
Guardians vs. TwinsSep 5 4:08 PM - AL
AT MINNESOTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JHONNY PERALTA SCORED ASDRUBAL CABRERA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J PERALTA ON SECOND, T HAFNER ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4
MINNESOTA 2 TOP, 9TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: F GUTIERREZ (.264, 0-FOR-4)
Guardians vs. TwinsSep 5 4:07 PM - AL
AT MINNESOTA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY TORII HUNTER SCORED NICK PUNTO.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, T HUNTER ON FIRST, J TYNER ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
MINNESOTA 2 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J MORNEAU (.281, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Guardians vs. TwinsSep 5 2:52 PM - AL
AT MINNESOTA - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY LUIS RODRIGUEZ SCORED BRIAN BUSCHER.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J TYNER ON FIRST, N PUNTO ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
MINNESOTA 1 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: T HUNTER (.289, 1-FOR-2)
Guardians vs. TwinsSep 5 2:50 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 3 3 3 0
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA
MIN - SCOTT BAKER
DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J TYNER (.293, 1 HR, 18 RBI)
L RODRIGUEZ (.220, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
T HUNTER (.288, 27 HR, 9
Guardians vs. TwinsSep 5 1:33 PM
Related News
- Greatest Minnesota Twins: The Twinkie Town Definitive List (Round 9) Dec 26
- A note from the front while awaiting news of anything resembling a baseball thing at all Dec 25
- The season of perpetual hope (Pt. 3 of 3): Jim Eisenreich Dec 24
- Analysis of the ZiPS Projections for the 2024 Guardians Dec 24
- Copy of Happy Holidays From the CTC Team: Tell us your Guardians’ Christmas Wish Dec 24
- N&N: Padres ink Yuki Matsui for 5 years Dec 24
- Rival Roundup, Vol. 47: Home for the Holidays Dec 23
- Where Are They Now? - Your Favorite Forgotten Players From 2016 - 2023 Dec 22
- News and Notes: Is MLB's Hot Stove About to Burst Into Flame? Dec 22
- 75 Years and Counting: The story of the 1983 Cleveland Indians Dec 21
- News and Notes: Guardians ZiPS Projections Releasing Soon on FanGraphs Dec 21
- 75 Years and Counting: The Story of the 1982 Cleveland Indians Dec 20