Tribe falls into tie for last place
9/11/2012MINNEAPOLIS -- Samuel Deduno struck out six in seven innings, and Pedro Florimon made two stellar defensive plays to go with a double and a triple, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.
Deduno (6-3) gave up just three hits and walked three, Ryan Doumit homered, and Justin Morneau drove in two runs for the Twins, who took the final three games of the four-game series.
Lonnie Chisenhall homered for the stumbling Indians, who are an AL-worst 15-41 since the All-Star break to fall into a tie with the Twins for last place in the Central division. Justin Masterson (11-13) gave up six runs and seven hits in 6⅔ innings.
It was a dangerous game for runners on the basepaths. Deduno hit Shin-Soo Choo in the helmet with an errant pickoff attempt in the third, a play reminiscent of the one from Boston reliever Franklin Morales in June that knocked Seattle's Franklin Gutierrez out for almost two months. Choo remained in the game.
After his RBI double in the seventh, Florimon was hit in the back of the head on a throw from Masterson while diving back to second base. There was an audible thud from the impact, and the shortstop remained down for a minute while trainers rushed to him. He too remained in the game and eventually scored from third on a wild pitch.
Being a little wild was nothing new for Deduno, who walked 36 batters in his first eight starts. But the Dominican right-hander has been able to harness his control a little better of late, and he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Tribe.
He was the beneficiary of several solid defensive plays, including a diving catch from Ben Revere in center field in the second inning, Joe Mauer leaning over the Indians' dugout railing to snag a foul ball in the fourth and Florimon barehanding a soft grounder to get Casey Kotchman in the seventh.
That play may have been the biggest, because Chisenhall hit a solo homer to right field on the next pitch, making it 3-2.
Minnesota scored three more in the seventh, and Doumit hit a drive to center field in the eighth to put the game away.
Mauer had two hits and an RBI to raise his average to .319, and Alexi Casilla added two more highlight-reel plays at second base for the Twins.
The Indians played without Asdrubal Cabrera, who has a sore wrist.