Winning two straight on the road against a division opponent is never anything to take for granted, regardless of how poorly that opponent may be playing at the time. The Cleveland Indians, in need of a mind eraser after a rough weekend in Boston, took two of two from the Minnesota Twins at Target Field to start the week. The first place Indians now return home for eight straight games, a stretch that concludes with a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.

3 thoughts on Indians sweeping the Twins: Had to win

Indians radio play-by-play announcer Tom Hamilton said it best on Tuesday: The Twins are playing lousy baseball right now, and thus they’re a team the Indians simply must beat at this stage of the season. Beating the bad teams and then splitting series after series with playoff contenders is how the 2012 Indians will, if they manage to actually do so, reach postseason play. Things nearly got out of hand Monday night when relievers Vinnie Pestano and Nick Hagadone combined to blow a three-run lead in the eighth inning. Cleveland answered right back in the top of the ninth in that contest, however, as Shin-Soo Choo brought home what was ultimately the game-winning run. The Indians then took care of business on Tuesday thanks to Derek Lowe pitching yet another gem.

This team has thus far done well to avoid getting into any type of funk this spring. They entered Minnesota having lost three in a row and five of their last six, and you couldn’t have blamed the Cleveland bats for being silent in the top of the ninth of Monday’s game after the bullpen failed to hold the lead. Instead, the Indians picked themselves up, and they now return to Cleveland with heads held high.

3 thoughts on Indians sweeping the Twins: A steal

It’s still early into the current campaign, but it appears as if the Indians pulled off one of the best moves of this past offseason by acquiring starter Derek Lowe for a minor leaguer. Lowe, now 6-1 after Tuesday’s victory, forced Minnesota batters to hit into 22 ground ball outs and four double plays. With his sinker looking as good as it has at any point during the season, Lowe completed his first shutout in almost seven years. He also gave the Cleveland bullpen some rest, which is always a plus at the end of any road trip. In his last four starts, Lowe has surrendered just four earned runs, and he’s notched wins in four of his last five appearances. While both Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson have struggled to get into any rhythm this spring, Lowe has been one of the better starters in all of the American League.

3 thoughts on Indians sweeping the Twins: The new leadoff man

The previously mentioned Choo will, “until further notice” according to Cleveland manager Manny Acta, be the team’s leadoff hitter. Choo went 0-3 at the plate with two strikeouts on Monday night leading up to the ninth inning of that game. Since then, he has three hits in five at-bats, a two-out RBI single, a homer, a walk, and he’s crossed the plate twice. It’s very possible, even likely, that Choo will not be Cleveland’s long-term option at the top of the order. Watch out, though, if he gets more and more comfortable in his new role in the lineup as time goes on.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Derek Lowe pitched his first shutout in nearly seven years, throwing a six-hitter Tuesday and leading the Cleveland Indians over the Minnesota Twins 5-0.

Shin-Soo Choo, the Indians’ new leadoff man, scored after a leadoff double in the third inning and then hit the first of three Cleveland home runs in the fifth against Jason Marquis (2-3). Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana also homered to break the game open.

The 38-year-old Lowe (6-1) was at his sinker-balling best, walking four without a strikeout. He induced four double-play grounders in winning his fourth straight decision.

This was Lowe’s longest outing in eight starts this season. He’s allowed three runs or less with six innings or more in seven of them.

Acquiring Lowe from Atlanta for a minor leaguer has turned out to be arguably the best move the Indians made for 2012. The Fausto Carmona false-identity fallout and inconsistency by Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson have hurt the rotation, but Lowe has been a welcome stabilizer.

Lowe threw a season-high 127 pitches for his 10th career complete game, and first since Aug. 26, 2008, for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was his fourth big league shutout, the previous one coming on Aug. 31, 2005, for the Dodgers at San Diego.

The only time the Twins truly came close to scoring was in the seventh when they loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk. But Alexi Casilla swung at the first pitch for a lazy fly to right field.

The first-place Indians rebounded from five losses in their previous six games with a two-game sweep at Target Field of the majors-worst Twins, who entered the game with the most groundballs hit in the league, an average of more than 14 per game.

Starting pitching has been just as much of a problem, and Marquis was the latest to falter. Manager Ron Gardenhire spoke before the game of the importance of a quality performance from Marquis, but he gave up nine hits, five runs and two walks in five innings while striking out only two.

The last time the Twins surrendered three homers in one inning was in 2010 when Carl Pavano did it at Detroit.

Casey Kotchman punched an RBI single down the lane past a shifted-over third baseman Jamey Carroll to drive in Santana after a double to start the second. Marquis escaped a leadoff triple by Michael Brantley in the fourth, but the ball was flying all over the place in the fifth.

Choo’s drive reached the left-field seats. Two batters later, Cabrera hit an 0-1 sinker to the upper deck in right-center. Then Santana turned on a changeup that sailed just inside the pole down the right-field line.

NOTES: Cleveland manager Manny Acta said before the game that Choo will be the leadoff hitter until further notice. … The Indians improved to 12-6 on the road, the third-best mark in the majors. … Indians 3B Jack Hannahan was held out for a second straight game because of a sore back. … Pavano will stay in Minnesota for a few days to work with a soft-tissue specialist on his bothersome right shoulder when the team leaves for the road, but he’s expected to make his next start on Saturday. … Twins C Joe Mauer, who went 0 for 3 with a walk and three groundouts, batted second for the first time this season.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Cleveland Indians had lost three in a row and five of their previous six, with another strong start to the season threatening to start swirling down the drain.

They appeared headed toward another loss when the bullpen faltered in the eighth inning before Shin-Soo Choo came to the rescue.

Choo hit the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning to back Jeanmar Gomez‘s seven superb innings and lift the Cleveland Indians to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Choo’s hit off Twins closer Matt Capps (0-2) scored pinch-runner Lou Marson from second base, bailing out an Indians bullpen that squandered a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning.

”Especially coming off our first three-game losing streak, we blew the lead it would have hurt more,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. ”Those are the type of things that tend to carry over. It was nice that we were able to come back, especially playing on the road. It was very important to do that so that things don’t start snowballing.”

The Indians won 30 of their first 45 last season, becoming one of the surprise teams in the league as they grabbed first place in the division right out of the gates before fading to the Detroit Tigers. They started this season 17-10, and are hoping to stick around the race a little longer this time.

Gomez did his best to stop the skid, allowing one unearned run and three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. But Vinnie Pestano gave up an RBI double to Josh Willingham in the eighth and Nick Hagadone served up a two-run homer to Ryan Doumit to tie the game 4-4.

Chris Perez pitched the ninth for his AL-leading 12th save in 13 chances.

”We needed to stop the losing streak and Gomez did a good job,” Choo said.

Casey Kotchman had two hits, including a two-run homer, and Joe Smith (3-1) picked up the win for the Indians.

The Twins managed only five hits and Capps allowed a run for the first time in six outings.

The 24-year-old Gomez got off to a dazzling start to the season with the first-place Indians, going 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA in his first five outings. The first two of those came in relief for the team’s No. 5 starter, thanks to a rainout, and he pitched well through his first four starts.

But the White Sox roughed up Gomez his last time out, tagging him for eight runs in 6 2-3 innings. The right-hander was able to stabilize himself on Monday night to put the Indians in position to end a three-game losing streak – their longest of the season.

”Today, I tried to be aggressive because last time I was a little too fine with the hitters,” Gomez said.

Darin Mastroianni scored on a throwing error from catcher Carlos Santana to put the Twins up 1-0 in the third, but that was all they could muster against Gomez, who wiggled out of another jam in the fifth.

The Twins had runners on second and third and one out, but Gomez got Brian Dozier to ground out to first and Joe Mauer on a grounder to second, drawing boos from the home crowd.

”It’s always more important when it’s a young guy that’s fighting his way up here at the back of the rotation,” Acta said. ”He’s pitched so well since spring training. (The White Sox game) was his roughest outing. I’m sure that this is going to be very good for his confidence.”

Santana and Travis Hafner had RBIs in the fourth before Kotchman smashed his third homer of the year well into the seats in right field in the fifth for a 4-1 lead.

Twins starter Carl Pavano gave up four runs and six hits in six innings while pitching through some soreness in his shoulder.

He was relieved in the seventh by Francisco Liriano, the lefty’s first appearance out of the bullpen since being demoted from the starting rotation last week. Liriano went 0-5 with a 9.45 ERA in his first six starts. Liriano pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

NOTES: Indians 3B Jack Hannahan did not play because of a sore back. … Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said INF Alexi Casilla is the team’s utility player after the shuffle that brought Dozier up from Triple-A and moved Jamey Carroll to 2B. Gardenhire planned to play Casilla on Tuesday. … It was Liriano’s first relief appearance since Sept. 24 when he gave up five earned runs in one-third of an inning and took the loss against the Indians. … RHP Jason Marquis (2-2, 6.26 ERA) will pitch for the Twins on Tuesday against Cleveland RHP Derek Lowe (5-1, 2.47). The 38-year-old Lowe is 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 25 2-3 innings over his past four starts.

Minneapolis — Indians manager Manny Acta tinkered with the top of his lineup before Monday night’s game against the Twins.

Help arrived from the familiar bats of Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera. Then a new voice was heard from at Target Field.

Shin-Soo Choo, installed in the leadoff spot for the first time since August, hit a two-out single in the ninth inning to score pinch runner Lou Marson and give the Indians a 5-4 victory over the Twins.

In a game of contrasting strategies, Acta made more good decisions than bad as the Indians ended a three-game losing streak. The win went to Joe Smith (3-1), and Chris Perez pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

The Indians entered the eighth with a 4-1 lead, but Vinnie Pestano couldn’t get through the inning. Pestano, who is having trouble against lefties, walked Denard Span to start the inning. He retired the next two batters, but Span stole second and scored on Josh Willingham’s double past first to make it 4-2.

Acta called for rookie left-hander Nick Hagadone instead of the right-handed Smith to make switch-hitter Ryan Doumit bat right-handed. Doumit had four homers coming into the at-bat, all from the left side of the plate.

Doumit foiled that strategy as he hit a two-run homer into the left-field seats to make it 4-4. He hit a 2-0 fastball.

“Nick has thrown the ball really well,” said Acta. “We wanted to turn Doumit around, and he just got Nick.”

The opposition has 35 at-bats against Hagadone. Doumit’s homer was just the fourth hit Hagadone has allowed.

“I’m just glad we won,” said Hagadone.

Casey Kotchman, who has spent the first six weeks of the season searching for his swing, gave the Indians a jolt from the bottom of the lineup with a two-run homer off Carl Pavano in the fifth for a 4-1 lead.

Kotchman contributed to the winning rally, as well, with a one-out single off Matt Capps (0-2). Aaron Cunningham popped out to second, but Kotchman advanced to second on a wild pitch with Choo batting. Acta sent Marson to pinch-run for Kotchman, and Choo delivered the game-winner on a clean hit to center.

“First, I felt good for the team because we ended a losing streak,” said Choo. “Second, I felt good for me. I think the team will feel good coming to the park for our next game.”

Acta took no credit for moving Choo into the leadoff spot.

“It worked because we didn’t pitch better at the end of the game,” said Acta. “I didn’t make up the lineup thinking Choo was going to come up with two out and a runner on second base in the ninth inning.”

The homer was Kotchman’s third of the season, but his first since April 15. Jose Lopez, who joined the Indians on Saturday in Boston to replace demoted Jason Donald, started the inning with a double to the wall in left.

Kotchman hit Pavano’s 1-2 pitch into the bleachers in right field. While Kotchman’s defense at first base has been excellent, the Indians still are looking for the player who hit .306 with the Rays last year. He is hitting .282 (11-for-39) in May, but only .198 (21-for-106) overall.

Starter Jeanmar Gomez showed toughness in his most recent start when he pitched seven innings against the Chicago White Sox, despite allowing eight runs on nine hits, to save the bullpen.

Monday night, all he had to do was pitch.

Gomez allowed one unearned run on three hits in seven innings. Catcher Carlos Santana’s throwing error in the third led to the run. Gomez struck out two and walked three against a Twins team that went 6-16 in April.

“He pitched well, but I feel bad for him, he should have got the win,” said Acta.

Pavano was facing his former team with a sore right shoulder. He has had it since spring training, but has been able to pitch with it. He told Twins reporters Sunday that it has cost him some velocity.

The Indians were held scoreless until the fourth when Kipnis singled through the middle. Cabrera, who just missed homering down the right field line, readjusted his sights and doubled down the left-field line as Kipnis stopped at third.

Travis Hafner’s grounder to second scored Kipnis to make it 1-1. Hafner is 4-for-32 with 11 RBI with runners in scoring position.

Santana’s sacrifice fly made it 2-1.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Indians have added righthander Jeremy Accardo to the bullpen to replace Dan Wheeler, who was designated for assignment following Sunday’s loss in Boston.

Accardo, 30, was a non-roster invitee in spring training after spending last season in the Baltimore organization, Has been working in relief at Class AAA Columbus, posting four saves in as many chances.

He has a 2.76 ERA in 13 relief appearances, allowing 12 hits, five earned runs and seven walks in 16.1 innings, while striking out 16.

Left-handed hitters have hit .118 (2-17) against him and right-handers have hit .244 (10-41).

Accardo will be available tonight when the Indians take on the Twins.