Indians 8, Twins 3 – Twins unable to sweep

The Moment: The Indians had an early lead, but you would forgive everyone if they weren’t convinced that Cleveland was going to walk away with an easy victory until well into the game. I’m talking 2nd inning. That is when Lonnie Chisenhall doubled the lead for the Indians with a 2 run homer, salting this game away early.

The Hero: Chisenhall had the two run homer, which was a good output, but Jason Kipnis was better. He had 4 hits, and two of them were home runs. He was responsible for half of the Cleveland runs, driving in 4. Done in by Jason Kipnis. That’s how the Twins roll.

The Goat: Aha, Hector. You’re back.

The Soundtrack: This Town – Niall Horan. One Direction, baby. And for the Twins, that direction is “towards first place!” This is a solid piece of analysis.

The Story: There was an important measuring stick in each of the first two games of this series. Were the Twins good enough to hang with the Indians after getting swept in their first meeting? Was Jose Berrios ready for the Majors this year? There was no big question this time around, and the Twins didn’t seem like they felt like answering anything anyways.

Ok, well maybe a couple of things. One, will Byron Buxton ever take a game off? The resounding answer was no. Even if he isn’t hitting, he will put his body on the line in the field for penance. Here he is flying into the center field wall.
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Another answer: What happened to the real Hector Santiago? Well, he’s back! He worked 2 2/3 innings, allowed 3 home runs and 6 runs and was pulled very early. Generously, Santiago stepped aside so new addition Adam Wilk could come in and work a handful of frames. He did OK. Nothing special, but far better than the performance he had in New York before becoming a Twin. Ol’ Hector’s ERA is now close to 4, which is about what one would expect.

One other question that remains unanswered is a good one for the Twins. When will the Twins stop hitting home runs? It wasn’t today. They added to their streak when Jorge Polanco hit a homer in the 7th. Even when the Twins lose, it’s not all bad.