Liriano, Twins quiet Indians
5/3/2010CLEVELAND - Wilson Ramos is already in pretty nice company and his major league career is exactly one game old.
Ramos became the first Twins player with four hits in his debut since Kirby Puckett in May, 1984, helping Minnesota to an 8-3 win over the Cleveland Indians yesterday.
"What a debut for the kid," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
No kidding.
"I was relaxed because I played in Venezuela and there's a lot of crazy fans," Ramos said. "Now, I am very excited and very happy. Kirby Puckett - I never thought of my name with his."
Delmon Young homered and had four hits for the Twins, who gave left-hander Francisco Liriano more than enough support in another impressive start. Minnesota fininshed with 20 hits in the game.
"That's a lot," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "They made Progressive Field look small."
Liriano (4-0) struck out nine over seven innings. The left-hander allowed three runs and eight hits, walking three.
The Twins' Jim Thome broke a 2-2 tie with a 425-foot line drive over the centerfield wall off David Huff (1-4) in the fifth inning. The 39-year-old slugger, who hit his first 334 homers for Cleveland, tied Rafael Palmiero for 11th on the career list with 569.
Young followed with a drive into the left-field seats for a 4-2 lead.
"We've been relying way too much on our pitching," Acta said. "You're going to need overpowering pitching to win with three runs."
Cleveland didn't get it from Huff, who gave up a two-run homer to Orlando Hudson in the first inning. Right-fielder Shin-Soo Choo saved another run when he threw out Justin Morneau trying to score from second.
Cleveland tied it in the bottom half when Liriano walked two, made an error and committed a balk. It began with Asdrubal Cabrera's single off Lirano's leg, and he went all the way to third when the pitcher threw wildly. Cabrera eventually scored on a groundout. Later in the inning, Liriano balked home a run before getting Mark Grudzielanek to hit into a double play.